The opinion of the court was delivered by: Richard Mills, District Judge:
Relief denied on procedural grounds.
Baugh has moved for federal relief from his 1977 state court
guilty plea and conviction for murder and unlawful use of
weapons. The State of Illinois has responded to the petition,
and Petitioner has replied to the response. Pursuant to Rule
8(a) of the rules governing 28 U.S.C. § 2254 cases, we have
determined that an evidentiary hearing is not required in this
case, because we further hold that Petitioner has waived any
entitlement to federal habeas corpus relief through a
procedural default.
Accordingly, the petition is denied and the case is
dismissed.
Factual and Procedural Background
The facts of this case and its procedural history are culled
entirely from the petition and its accompanying exhibits.
Along with the petition, Petitioner has filed excerpts from
transcripts of several court proceedings, affidavits of
several relatives, and letters from well-wishers and potential
witnesses. Additionally, Respondent has filed complete
transcripts of all the trial court hearings pertaining to
Petitioner, save his sentencing.
The roots of this petition go back to the spring of 1977,
when Jack Ernest Baugh resided with one Susan J. Hayes in East
Peoria, Illinois. There, sometime in the evening on April 6,
Ms. Hayes was murdered by means of a severe beating with some
blunt instrument, possibly a cane. The police investigation
focused on Baugh; the interest in Baugh stemmed as well from
the fact that some 16 firearms were discovered during the
investigation which apparently all belonged to Baugh — because
he had a prior felony conviction, the guns placed him in
violation of both state and federal law.
About a week after the murder Baugh surrendered to the
police and was officially charged with Ms. Hayes' slaying.
Baugh's counsel at the time he surrendered and at his
arraignment and preliminary hearing was a Mr. Napoli; this
attorney, however, had filed a limited entry of appearance
stating that he would only represent Baugh through the
preliminary hearing. Thus, following that hearing Attorney
Napoli withdrew and the public defender was appointed on May
4, 1977. At some point following that, however, Mr. Napoli
once again took the reins, and he represented Baugh at the
time of the guilty plea on June 24, 1977.
Petitioner Baugh had been charged by the State of Illinois
with four counts of murder and one count of unlawful use of
weapons (3 blackjacks and 1 set of metal knuckles were also
found at the scene of the murder). The guilty plea entered by
Petitioner resulted from the state agreeing to dismiss three
of the murder counts, leaving only one murder count and the
unlawful use of weapons charge. The original plea and
sentencing agreement called for a prison term of 20 to 40
years plus parole; the judge, however, rejected this plea
without comment. The record reveals that "[a] brief recess was
taken," following which the parties approached the judge with
a nearly identical plea agreement which this time called for
a 20 to 60 year period of incarceration, signed by Petitioner
and both counsel. After expressly asking Petitioner if he had
had time to review and consider both the original and the
amended plea agreement, and also after being fully satisfied
of the factual basis for the guilty plea, the judge accepted
the plea agreement and entered a judgment of conviction on
those charges. Petitioner was sentenced in accordance with the
plea agreement on July 6, 1977, at which time he was also
advised of his right to withdraw and to appeal his guilty
plea.
The firearms discovered during the murder investigation were
not forgotten; Petitioner's illegal possession of these was
prosecuted in federal court concurrently with the state court
proceeding. The United States charged Petitioner with 7 counts
of violating 18 U.S.C. § 922(h), and on June 24, 1977,
Petitioner pled guilty to those charges and agreed to be
sentenced separately for each count. The total federal sentence
came to 35 years, and this sentence ran concurrently with
Petitioner's state sentence.
Petitioner never appealed his state court conviction, nor
did he ever seek any other post-conviction remedy in the state
courts. He did, however, appeal his federal conviction, and
succeeded in getting 5 of the 7 counts vacated due to a
defective plea agreement. United States v. Baugh, 787 F.2d 1131
(7th Cir.1986). As a result, Petitioner's federal incarceration
period was substantially shortened; he has now served all his
federal time, and his custody has been transferred to Illinois
prison officials. Petitioner is currently incarcerated at Logan
Correctional Center in Lincoln, Illinois.