Lamons

MEMORANDUM **

Lamons’s attorney raises two issues in his supplemental brief. He argues 1) that Lamons was unconstitutionally denied a hearing where the record does not support a guilty plea and that his lawyer was ineffective in stipulating to a factual basis for the plea and 2) that Lamons was unconstitutionally denied a pre-trial competency hearing. Additionally, Lamons makes several claims in his pro se brief. The most meritorious of these are that his guilty plea was not voluntary and intelligent and that his counsel was ineffective in not requesting a suppression hearing.

I. Basis in Fact for Plea

Lamons argues that there was no basis in fact for his guilty plea because instead of killing the victim with the intent to rob him, he says he killed him in a struggle for a gun that the victim pulled on him, and then only decided to steal the victim’s money after he was dead. Therefore, Lamons claims he was guilty only of manslaughter and theft. Lamons argues that his counsel was ineffective because he failed to explain this defense to the charges to Lamons and that, because of his lawyer’s oversight, his plea was involuntary.

However, the defense attorney conceded that there…