Ringo v. State

RONNIE L. WHITE, Chief Justice.

I

After granting defense counsel’s motion for a change of venue, a jury in Cape Girardeau County convicted Appellant, Earl Ringo, Jr., of two counts of first-degree murder and imposed two death sentences. This Court upheld Appellant’s conviction on direct appeal. 1 Appellant, pro se, moved for post-conviction relief under Rule 29.15 alleging constitutionally ineffective assistance of counsel on fifteen grounds.

Appointed counsel filed an amended Rule 29.15 motion raising only five claims. The motion court denied three of the claims without hearing. The first was a…