CandeArgot was indicted for murder and cruelty to children. On April 17, 1998, she pled guilty under North Carolina v. Alford , 400 U. S. 25 91 SC 160, 27 LE2d 162 1970 to voluntary manslaughter. On August 10, 1998, following a presentence investigation and hearing, the trial court sentenced her to 20 years in prison. On August 27, 1998, Argot filed a motion for reconsideration of her sentence. On September 10, 1998 she filed a motion to withdraw her guilty plea, claiming ineffective assistance of counsel and that the trial court improperly considered her Alford plea in imposing sentence. The trial court denied these motions on January 16, 2002, and this appeal followed. 1. Argot argues her plea counsel was ineffective because he gave her misinformation about her eligibility for parole, which led to her decision to plead guilty. “To prevail on her ineffective assistance of counsel claim, Argot must show that her lawyer’s performance was deficient and that, but for his errors, there is a reasonable probability she would have insisted on going to trial. Hill v. Lockhart , 474 U. S. 52, 59 106 SC 366, 88 LE2d 203 1985.” Ellis v. State , 272 Ga. 763, 764 534 SE2d 414 2000.
Citing Williams v. Duffy , 270 Ga. 580 513 SE2d 212 1999, Argot acknowledges that our state appellate courts have previously held that failure to inform a defendant of the parole consequences of a guilty plea does not constitute ineffectiveness of counsel, but she argues ineffectiveness can be shown when counsel affirmatively provides misinformation concerning parole. See Crabbe v. State , 248 Ga. App. 314, 315-316 546 SE2d 65 2001. Argot argues that in this case, plea counsel misinformed her “that the amount of time that she would have to spend in prison before she would be eligible for parole would be less under the manslaughter charge than it would be under the murder charge.” Argot argues that this information was erroneous, because she will be required to serve 18 years, or 90 percent, of her 20 year sentence for voluntary manslaughter before she will be eligible for parole, but she would have been eligible for parole after 14 years if she had been convicted of the original murder charge and sentenced to life.
