Gary James Taylor v. Lawrence Kincheloe

Gary James Taylor appeals the district court’s denial of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. We have-jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 2253 (1988), and we affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS BELOW

Lloyd and Lula Miller were murdered on August 21, 1974. The perpetrators shot them both in the head and burned down their home. Taylor and an associate were charged with the crimes. Taylor went to trial in 1975 on two counts of first-degree murder and one count of arson. After the jury was impaneled and sworn, and after the prosecutor’s opening statement, Taylor entered into a plea agreement, and the trial was terminated.

Pursuant to the agreement, the prosecutor dropped the arson count and lowered one of the first-degree murder charges to second-degree murder. The trial judge accepted the plea to both first and second-degree murder and sentenced Taylor to two concurrent life terms. Several months later, however, Taylor convinced the state court of appeals to vacate the entire plea agreement on the ground he had not understood its consequences. The prosecutor responded by reinstating the original pre-plea indictment, and Taylor was tried again in January 1977. This time the jury…