Wheeler v. State

Benham, Chief Justice.

Facing prosecution for a number of charges arising from the September 1996 murder of a woman and the aggravated assault of her male companion, appellant John Dean Wheeler pled guilty to the murder charge in February 1997 and was sentenced to life imprison ment. Nine months later, in December 1997, appellant filed a motion for out-of-time appeal in which he contended that his appellate rights had not been exercised in a timely fashion because his attorney did not file an appeal. Appellant brings this appeal from the trial court’s denial of his motion.

Decided May 4, 1998…