Henry Molignaro v. Lamont Smith, Warden, Georgia State Prison, Reidsville, Georgia

WISDOM, Circuit Judge:

This habeas case involves the duty of a trial court to inform an accused of the consequences of pleading guilty to an indictment for child molesting. The question is whether, before accepting a waiver of the right to counsel, the trial court should have informed the accused that a guilty plea carried a maximum possible sentence of twenty years. We reverse the district court’s denial of the writ. In the absence of a showing that the petitioner was informed of the possible punishment he faced, we hold that there was no knowing and intelligent waiver of the right to counsel.