Rhoten v. State

OPINION

Opinion by

Justice CARTER.

I. Factual and Procedural History

After trial by jury, April Suzanne Rho-ten was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder and sentenced to eighteen years’ imprisonment. Rhoten’s sister, Amber Rhoten, discovered text messages on Rho-ten’s cell phone indicating Rhoten’s intention to kill their father. Amber alerted the police, who investigated the matter and interviewed Rhoten on two separate occasions. During police questioning, Rhoten confessed to agreeing with James Perkins to kill her father and to planning the murder through telephone calls and text messages…