John Louis Evans, III v. Robert G. Britton, Commissioner, Alabama Board of Corrections, and Joseph Oliver, Warden, Holman Prison

In its petition for rehearing, the state raises two points which merit further comment.

The state first argues that the panel ignored the effect of Evans’ guilty plea. The state maintains that, under Alabama law, the guilty plea was effective, and forecloses on any doubt regarding the fairness of Evans’ trial. The initial difficulty with the state’s position is that Evans’ guilty plea was not accepted by the trial court. The Alabama Supreme Court reached this specific point in dealing with Evans’ codefendant Ritter. Evans and Ritter both entered identical pleas, Evans v. State, 361 So.2d 654,…