Walden v. State

Hunstein, Chief Justice.

James Mickey Walden pled guilty to felony murder on January 27, 2011 in connection with the arson that caused his stepfather’s death.1 On February 15, 2011, Walden filed a motion to withdraw his guilty plea, which the trial court denied. Finding that the plea was voluntary, we affirm. We further hold that Walden’s claim of ineffective assistance of counsel is not properly before us on direct appeal since it was not raised below.

The charges in this case arise out of an incident that occurred on March 17, 2010. On that date, Walden went to his mother and stepfather’s…