Rolen v. State

Petitioner Craig Rolen pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to twenty-five years imprisonment. Petitioner filed an application for post-conviction relief (PCR) alleging that counsel was ineffective for failing to move to withdraw his guilty plea. The PCR court denied relief. This Court granted a writ of certiorari to review that decision.

Factual/Procedural Background

On October 4, 2001, Kedrick Mahon’s (Victim) decomposed body was found in Petitioner’s car at the bottom of a ravine-. Petitioner was arrested for Victim’s murder on July 16, 2003.1 In September 2004, Petitioner…