Hannah v. State


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Docket Number: 2004-CT-00725-SCT
Linked Case(s): 2004-CT-00725-SCT ; 2004-CT-00725-SCT ; 2004-CT-00725-COA ; 2004-CT-00725-SCT ; 2004-CP-00725-COA

Supreme Court: Opinion Link
Opinion Date: 10-19-2006
Opinion Author: COBB, P.J.
Holding: Reversed and Remanded

Additional Case Information: Topic: Post-conviction relief - Ineffective assistance of counsel - Voluntariness of plea
Judge(s) Concurring: Waller, P.J., Diaz, Graves, Dickinson and Randolph, JJ.
Dissenting Author : Smith, C.J.
Dissent Joined By : Easley and Carlson, JJ.
Procedural History: PCR
Nature of the Case: CIVIL - POST-CONVICTION RELIEF
Writ of Certiorari: Yes
Appealed from Court of Appeals

Trial Court: Date of Trial Judgment: 11-08-2004
Appealed from: Winston County Circuit Court
Judge: Clarence E. Morgan, III
Disposition: Emma Hannah pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the Winston County Circuit Court and was sentenced to serve twenty years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. She subsequently filed a pro se petition for post-conviction relief which the trial court denied. The Court of Appeals subsequently found she waived all claims by pleading guilty and affirmed the trial court.
District Attorney: Doug Evans
Case Number: 2003-213-CV

Note: The State's motion for rehearing is denied. The previous opinions are withdrawn and these opinions are substituted therefor. Reversed and Remanded.

  Party Name: Attorney Name:  
Appellant: Emma Hannah




PRO SE



 

Appellee: State of Mississippi OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL: JOHN R. HENRY  

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Topic: Post-conviction relief - Ineffective assistance of counsel - Voluntariness of plea

Summary of the Facts: The motion for rehearing is denied, and these opinions are substituted for the original opinions. Emma Hannah pled guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to twenty years. She filed a petition for post-conviction relief which the court denied. The Court of Appeals found she waived all claims by pleading guilty and affirmed the trial court. The Supreme Court granted certiorari.

Summary of Opinion Analysis: Issue 1: Ineffective assistance of counsel Hannah argues that she received ineffective assistance of counsel, as to the plea as well as other underlying matters. Hannah must show that there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel’s errors, she would not have pleaded guilty, would have insisted on going to trial, and the outcome would have been different. Hannah argues that there were conflicting statements by the victim identifying his attacker as another woman to members of the burn center that treated him for his injuries and that there were other people, including the victim’s girlfriend, in the house at various times prior to and at the time of the scalding. This evidence, set forth in the medical records, along with Hannah’s testimony that someone else committed this act, is enough to raise a reasonable doubt that Hannah committed the offense. In the alternative, if defense counsel had presented the contradictory statements, delved further into Hannah’s claims of prior abuse by the victim and of the abuse she says had taken place immediately prior to the incident, and asserted the intervening circumstances of the victim’s death from respiratory failure, it is reasonable to conclude that the outcome of a jury trial may have been different. Issue 2: Voluntariness of plea A defendant must be advised concerning the nature of the charge against her and the consequences of her plea including the minimum and maximum sentences that may be imposed. The defendant must be told that her guilty plea waives several constitutional rights including her right to trial by jury, the right to confront adverse witnesses and the right to protection against self-incrimination. A plea cannot be voluntary in the sense that it constituted an intelligent admission unless the defendant received real notice of the true nature of the charge against him, the first and most universally recognized requirement of due process. A factual basis for a plea may be established by the admission of the defendant, but the admission must contain factual statements constituting a crime or be accompanied by independent evidence of guilt. Hannah’s level of awareness and understanding during the plea colloquy is unclear. She merely answered “yes” to questions from the judge. When she faltered and said “no,” the judge restated the question with little or no explanation. The record indicates that the trial court, at sentencing, had some evidence that Hannah committed the offense. Whether such evidence was sufficient is difficult to ascertain, particularly since Hannah continued to maintain during sentencing that she was not guilty and offered speculation as to who might have thrown the boiling water on the victim. In viewing the entire record, additional facts raise doubt as to the voluntariness of her plea. Therefore, the case is reversed and remanded for an evidentiary hearing.


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