State v. Motts

In this capital case, a jury convicted Jeffrey Brian Motts of murdering his cell-mate at Perry Correctional Institution. Shortly after his appellate counsel filed a notice of appeal, Motts wrote to this Court indicating his desire to abandon his direct appeal and to waive all appellate review of his conviction and death sentence. In response, this Court remanded the case to the circuit court to conduct a competency hearing. Following a hearing, the circuit court found Motts competent to waive his appeals.

After conducting an extensive review of the record in this case and thoroughly…