Williams v. Stat

P ER CURIAM.

Thomas B. Devine III, a state-salaried, full-time conflicts public defender for the Sixth Judicial District, was appointed by the trial court to represent Appellant Phillip Williams, an indigent defendant, in his capital murder case. Following a trial, Williams was sentenced to life in prison without parole. A timely notice of appeal and request for the transcribed record have been filed.

Mr. Devine now asks to be relieved as counsel for Mr. Williams in this criminal appeal as a result of this court’s decision in Rushing v. State, 340 Ark. 84, 8 S.W.3d 489 (2000). In Rushing, this…