Whatley v. State

DICKSON, Justice.

Following a jury trial, the defendant, Kenneth Whatley, was convicted of murder, 1 dealing in a sawed-off shotgun, 2 and carrying a handgun without a license. 3 The trial court merged the murder and sawed-off shotgun charges and imposed concurrent sentences, sixty years for the murder and two years 4 for the' handgun charge. In this direct appeal, the defendant presents four claims: (1) he entered into a de facto guilty plea without an advisement of his rights; (2) the trial court gave an erroneous instruction on circumstantial evidence; (3) the trial court abused its…