Pope v. State, 301 Ga. 528

Background

In 2007 Pope was indicted for malice murder, felony murder (during aggravated battery), and first-degree arson arising from the 2005 immolation of his fiancée; the State had given notice it might seek the death penalty.
On January 8, 2013 Pope entered Alford pleas to the charges; the State removed the death-penalty option as part of the plea.
On January 15, 2013 the superior court sentenced Pope to life without parole for malice murder and 20 years for arson; felony murder was vacated by operation of law.
Two days after sentencing the court filed a written “Factual Support of Aggravating Circumstances,” asserting aggravators (aggravated battery and arson) as established by the indictment allegations.
In February 2016 Pope filed pro se motions to vacate a void/illegal sentence, to withdraw his Alford plea, and for appointment of counsel; the superior court denied all three motions in April 2016.
Pope appealed, arguing his life-without-parole sentence was void because the court failed to make the required contemporaneous finding of a statutory aggravating circumstance under former OCGA § 17-10-32.1.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether life-without-parole sentence is void for failure to make a contemporaneous statutory-aggravator finding under former OCGA § 17-10-32.1	Pope: sentence void because no finding beyond a reasonable doubt of a statutory aggravator was made at sentencing; post-sentencing filing cannot cure defect	State: sentencing court’s later factual support cures or validates the sentence	Court: Reversed — sentence void ab initio; post-sentence finding two days later insufficient; statute requires contemporaneous finding
Whether Pope may withdraw his Alford plea given timeliness denial	Pope: plea withdrawal should be allowed because sentence void and denial premised on timeliness relative to a valid sentence	State: motion to withdraw was untimely (filed >2 years after sentence) and no manifest injustice shown	Court: Remanded for reconsideration — denial tied to timeliness based on a sentence that was void; motions must be reconsidered (but withdrawal is not automatic for other counts)
Whether Pope was entitled to appointed counsel for plea-withdrawal motion	Pope: requested counsel for collateral challenge tied to plea withdrawal	State: no right to appointed counsel because motion was untimely	Court: Remanded — appointment issue depends on renewed timeliness/merits review after vacatur of void sentence
Effect of vacatur on remaining pleas/sentences	Pope: vacatur should allow withdrawal of all pleas	State: pleas on other counts stand unless procedural grounds permit withdrawal	Court: Vacatur does not automatically entitle Pope to withdraw remaining pleas; those claims governed by precedent and not reversible as-of-right

Key Cases Cited

Cordova v. State, 297 Ga. 26 (finding that a guilty plea in a death-penalty case requires a contemporaneous judicial finding of a statutory aggravating circumstance to impose life without parole)
Pierce v. State, 289 Ga. 893 (construing strict requirement for statutory aggravator finding when imposing life without parole on a plea)
Hughes v. State, 269 Ga. 819 (due process requires opportunity to be heard before imposition of life without parole; post-sentencing findings impermissible)
Humphrey v. State, 299 Ga. 197 (vacatur of an illegal sentence does not automatically permit withdrawal of remaining pleas)
Pierce v. State, 294 Ga. 842 (same proposition regarding withdrawal of pleas after vacatur)
Kaiser v. State, 285 Ga. App. 63 (explaining limitations on plea withdrawal after sentence changes)
North Carolina v. Alford, 400 U.S. 25 (recognizing that a defendant may enter a guilty plea while protesting innocence)