Kelly v. State

We have this matter before us on appellant’s motion for belated appeal. On April 15, 1987, appellant pled guilty to three counts of rape and a controlled substance charge for which he received forty years, twenty years to be suspended upon his good behavior. Appellant filed a pro se Rule 37 petition which was denied on September 23, 1987. Appellant and his mother then hired counsel on September 24, 1987. For some reason, appellant did not appeal the denial of his Rule 37 petition. Instead, he filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the United States District Court, Eastern District.…