William Edgar Jones v. United States

Appellant’s petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 alleged that his guilty plea was induced by coercive in-custody interrogation without counsel, threats to himself and his family, and a promise of leniency. The district court denied the petition without a hearing on the ground that “the records of the case conclusively show that Petitioner is entitled to no relief and that he has presented no issues to the Court upon which a hearing is required.”

The record discloses that before accepting appellant’s guilty plea the district court conducted the inquiry contemplated by Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. Appellant’s petition was dismissed solely on the ground that “whenever a defendant, represented by counsel, is correctly informed by the Court of the consequences of the conviction, affirms his understanding of the charge, affirms his guilt thereof, and denies the existence of coercive influences or promises for the purpose of bringing about a plea of guilty, his ‘then state of mind’ is established. He cannot later be heard to say that he did not understand the consequences of conviction or that his plea was coerced by threats of the investigating officers.”

The…