James v. State

Appellant was charged with capital murder in 1983. The charge was reduced to first degree murder pursuant to a plea bargain and appellant entered a plea of guilty. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in the Arkansas Department of Correction. He subsequently filed a motion for transcript and wrote a letter to the circuit judge stating his intention to proceed under Criminal Procedure Rule 37 to vacate the guilty plea. The judge treated the motion and letter as a request for a hearing and appointed counsel to represent the appellant. Counsel filed an amended Rule 37 petition, alleging in…