Herman Smith, Jr. v. Frank Blackburn, Warden, Louisiana State Penitentiary

ALVIN B. RUBIN, Circuit Judge:

Herman Smith, a prisoner for the last 20 years at Angola Penitentiary, contends in this habeas corpus petition that the state’s failure to release him after he had served ten and one-half years of his life sentence for aggravated rape, pursuant to a guilty plea, constitutes a violation of the plea bargain he entered into and thus invalidates and renders involuntary his plea. The district court disagreed and dismissed his petition with prejudice. Finding that Smith has sustained his burden of proof and has established a right to the relief he seeks, we reverse.

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