Cruz v. State

OPINION

ODOM, Judge.

Appellant was convicted of murder with malice following a plea of guilty. The court assessed punishment at ten years.

Appellant contends first that his guilty plea was involuntary and the trial court therefore erred in overruling his motion for a new trial. The record reflects that he had negotiated a plea bargain with the prosecutor. In exchange for appellant’s plea of guilty to a charge to which he had a potentially meritorious claim of self defense,1 the State agreed to recommend a ten-year probated sentence. The trial court refused to follow the recommendation.

When…