Wilhite v. Commonwealth

STERNBERG, Justice.

The appellant, John L. Wilhite, was convicted in the Fayette Circuit Court for the offense of first-degree rape (KRS 510.040) and first-degree burglary of the victim’s apartment (KRS 511.020). The jury ordered him to serve a term of 20 years in prison for rape and 10 years for burglary. In the second phase of the bifurcated proceeding, the jury found the appellant to be a persistent felony offender in the second degree and fixed his punishment at confinement in the penitentiary for a period of 20 years on each of the two charges. Thereupon, the trial court sentenced him to…