State v. Bouie

Landour Bouie (defendant) and codefendant Cornelius Johnson were charged with attempted second-degree murder for shooting Eddie Hughes in the throat with a rifle after Hughes interrupted Bouie and Johnson’s attempt to procure the services of a prostitute. The state (plaintiff) alleged that Bouie had driven Johnson to Bouie’s house to retrieve the rifle and back to where they had first encountered Hughes, after which Johnson shot Hughes, and Bouie drove Johnson from the scene. Hughes lived but was paralyzed. The state offered Bouie a plea deal. At the plea hearing, the trial judge participated in plea negotiations, advising Bouie that if he opted for trial, he faced 50-100 years of hard labor because Bouie had been on probation at the time of the shooting, and the state had the option of charging him under a multiple-offender statute. The trial judge stated that if Bouie pleaded guilty, the trial judge would reduce the sentence to 10-25 years of hard labor, depending on whether the state opted to charge Bouie under the multiple-offender statute. The trial judge added that in his 16 years as a prosecutor and judge, he had only ever seen two defendants take their cases to trial and get a not-guilty verdict. Bouie vacillated but ultimately entered a guilty plea. The trial judge sentenced Bouie to 25 years of hard labor. Bouie moved to withdraw his plea. The trial judge denied the motion. Bouie appealed.