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Although Patterson’s guilty plea wasn’t appealed, the justices also overturned it.“We hold appellant’s guilty plea and sentence must be vacated because a significant inducement for entering the plea was the condition that the jury determine punishment, an impermissible condition under the statutory mandate that the trial judge alone determines punishment when a defendant pleads guilty to murder,” the justices said in their opinion.“The U.S. Supreme Court has held that the taking of a plea must be attended by safeguards to insure the defendant what is reasonablydue in the circumstances,” the court said.The state court quoted the U.S. Supreme Court: “When a plea rests in any significant degree on a promise or agreement of the prosecutor, so that it can be said to be part of the inducement or consideration, such promise must be fulfilled.”Under the state’s capital punishment law, if the accused decides to stand trial, the jury hears the facts of the crime and returns a verdict. If the verdict is guilty, a second trial is held 24 hours later for the jury to vote on the sentence.The court said that state law “specifies the sentencing hearing shall be ‘before the court’ if the trial jury has been waived or if the defendant pleaded guilty. When read in the context of the entire subsection, the word ‘court’ obviously refers to the trial judge.”Until a decision is made on a new trial, Patterson will remain inprison.
Newspaper Details
Aiken Standard
Aiken, South Carolina, US
Tue, Sep 14, 1982
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Cornell U.
NY, USA 25 Feb 2021
Other Publications Near Aiken, South Carolina
Aiken Daily Mail
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Aiken Standard
