Johnny McGowan, Jr. vs. State

The Petitioner, Johnny L. McGowan, Jr., pled guilty in 1994 to aggravated arson, arson, six counts of reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon and two counts of vandalism, and the trial court sentenced him to twenty years in prison, to be served concurrently with a sentence from a previous conviction. In 2003, the Petitioner filed two pro se petitions for writs of habeas corpus in case numbers 27902 and 27903 alleging that his guilty pleas were not entered knowingly and voluntarily and requesting that the trial court appoint him counsel. The trial court summarily dismissed the petitions because it found that the Petitioner's claims, considered in the light most favorable to him, would at best render his convictions voidable and not void. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that the trial court erred by denying his request for appointment of counsel and by dismissing his petitions because there were "fatal variances" between the indictments and the evidence contained in the record. Finding no reversible error, we affirm the trial court's judgments.