Heffernan v. State (Per Curiam)
Annotate this CaseAfter a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of capital murder for the death of a fourteen-year-old girl. Appellant was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. Thereafter, Appellant challenged his conviction by way of direct appeal and federal and state habeas relief, all without success. In 2015, Appellant filed a pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus in the circuit court located in the county in which he is now incarcerated, arguing that the judgment in his case was invalid and that the trial court lacked jurisdiction because the record did not reflect that the jury had found him guilty of either kidnapping or rape, which were the underlying offenses to capital murder. The trial court declined to grant relief. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Appellant did not make a showing of probable cause to believe he was illegally detained.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.