Barnes v. Georgia
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In 1993, a jury found Appellant Joseph Barnes guilty of malice murder, two counts of felony murder, and armed robbery and recommended a death sentence. The trial court sentenced Barnes to death for the murder and also imposed a consecutive life sentence for the armed robbery. The Supreme Court affirmed Appellant's convictions but vacated the death sentence and remanded the case back to the trial court for a new sentencing hearing based on its conclusion that the trial court had improperly restricted the scope of mitigating evidence presented at the sentencing phase of Appellant's trial. On remand, Appellant and the State entered into a sentencing agreement under which Appellant accepted a sentence of life without parole and the State agreed to withdraw its notice of intent to seek the death penalty. The trial court accepted the agreement at a hearing and sentenced Barnes to life without parole on his malice murder conviction. In 2011, proceeding pro se, Appellant filed a motion for an out-of-time appeal. He appealed following the denial of his motion. Because Appellant challenged the validity of the sentencing agreement which could have been resolved against him on the record, the trial court did not err in denying his motion for an out-of-time appeal.
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