Stanley v. State
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The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) affirming the circuit court's denial of Defendant's second Haw. R. Penal. P. 40 petition for post-conviction relief, holding that the ICA erred in affirming the circuit court's ruling that Defendant failed to state a colorable claim that he was convicted of attempted reckless manslaughter in his second petition.
Defendant's second petition arose from a 1988 conviction for two counts of attempted first degree murder, one count of attempted first degree murder, one count of attempted manslaughter, and one count of place to keep firearm. In his second Rule 40 petition, Defendant argued that his conviction of attempted manslaughter was based on reckless conduct and therefore, his sentence was illegal. The circuit court denied the petition, and the ICA affirmed. The Supreme Court vacated the ICA's judgment and Defendant's 1988 conviction for attempted manslaughter, holding (1) Defendant was convicted of attempted reckless manslaughter and was therefore subject to an illegal sentence for a non-existent crime; and (2) the presumptively harmful erroneous attempted reckless manslaughter jury instruction was not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.
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