State v. Johnson

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Davis, J.:

The defendant, Robert D. Johnson, appeals from his sentence of 15 years to life imposed following his Alford plea to aggravated criminal sodomy in violation of K.S.A. 21-3506(b). A plea entered pursuant to North Carolina v. Alford, 400 U.S. 25, 27 L. Ed. 2d 162, 91 S. Ct 160 (1970), is a plea of guilty to the charge without admitting to the commission of the offense. He contends that he was provided no opportunity by the court to speak before sentence was imposed; that he requested but was sentenced without the benefit of a mental health…