Court of Special Appeals of Maryland September 11, 2002, 1836, Sept. Term, 2001 (Mateen v. Galley)

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ADKINS, Judge.

Muhsin R. Mateen, appellant, has been incarcerated on a first degree murder conviction since September 9, 1972. In a 1997 petition for a writ of habeas corpus, Mateen presented what we view as two distinct grounds for habeas relief: (1) that his 50 year sentence for first degree murder was illegally increased to life with all but 50 years suspended, and (2) that he has been