State v. Carpenter

Francis E. Sweeney, Sr., J.

The sole issue before this court is: When the state accepts a negotiated plea, and the victim later dies of injuries sustained in the crime, can the defendant later be indicted for murder where the state does not *61expressly reserve the right of the state to file additional charges, should the victim later die? For the following reasons, we answer “no” and, thereby, reverse the judgment of the court of appeals.

Plea agreements are an essential and necessary part of the administration of justice. Santobello v. New York (1971), 404 U.S. 257, 261, 92 S.Ct. 495, 498, 30…