Harrell v. State

Cedric Harrell shot and killed Thakor Patel while trying to rob Mr. Patel’s package store. Harrell confessed to the shooting, and the grand jury indicted him on five charges, including malice murder. He negotiated a plea agreement pursuant to which he would plead guilty to malice murder and, in exchange, the State would not seek the death penalty and would drop the remaining four charges. The trial court accepted the plea and sentenced appellant to life without parole. The trial court granted an out-of-time appeal, and Harrell appeals from the judgment of conviction and sentence entered on his guilty plea.1

1. “A guilty plea should not be allowed to stand where ‘influenced by the slightest hope of benefit or the remotest fear of injury. . . .’ Cit.” Thompson v. Greene, 265 Ga. 782, 784 1 462 SE2d 747 1995. Appellant contends that he was under the mistaken impression that his sentence for murder would be subject to review by the Sentence Review Panel. OCGA § 17-10-6 f. The record shows that, after accepting the plea and imposing the sentence, the trial court informed him: