Petty v. Smith

HUNSTEIN, Justice.

Rico D. Petty petitioned for habeas corpus contending, inter alia, that he received ineffective assistance of counsel in that his decision to plead guilty to felony murder and aggravated assault was based on counsel’s misunderstanding of the law of merger. The habeas corpus court denied Petty’s petition and we granted him a certificate of probable cause to appeal that ruling. For the following reasons, we reverse.

The record reveals that Petty was charged in a three-count indictment. Count 1 alleged Petty committed malice murder “by shooting [the victim] with a shotgun.” As…