In May 2011, appellee Kealy Williams pled guilty to charges of malice murder, felony murder, hijacking a motor vehicle, armed robbery, two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. He was sentenced to life in prison on the malice murder conviction, twenty years imprisonment for his convictions for hijacking, armed robbery and aggravated assault, and a consecutive, suspended five year sentence for the possession of a firearm conviction. In April 2013, he filed a pro se petition for habeas corpus contending, inter alia, that his plea was not voluntarily entered and that his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance. After a hearing, the habeas court granted Williams’ petition, concluding that his plea was invalid because he was not of sufficiently sound mind and intelligence to make an informed decision to plead guilty and that he was denied effective assistance of counsel under Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 104 SCt 2052, 80 LE2d 674 1984. Stan Shepard, in his capacity as the warden of the Augusta State Medical Prison, appealed the habeas court’s ruling, and after reviewing the record and applicable legal authorities, we reverse the grant of habeas relief in this case.
The evidence, as set out in the indictment and the plea hearing transcript, reveals that victims Terrance Harris and Edward Carmichael were washing Harris’ car in a drive-thru car wash when Williams approached and shot Harris. Both victims fled on foot, and Harris subsequently died. Harris’ car, which was taken by Williams, was later discovered abandoned. The day following the crimes, Williams became distraught while watching news coverage of the murder and told family members that he knew something about the crimes. During an interview with police, he admitted 1 he went to the car wash with a gun looking for a car to steal and for drugs; 2 he pulled out his gun as he approached Carmichael, who was standing outside the car; 3 he only meant to scare Harris, who was sitting in the car; 4 Harris got out of the car and ran after the gunshot; and 5 he Williams did not know whether Harris had been shot. Williams also told officers that he shot like two or three times, then drove around for a while, abandoned the car, threw the gun in a sewer, and took Carmichael’s blue jacket from the car. The blue jacket was later recovered from Williams’ closet.1
