Thomas T. Cummings v. State of Tennessee

The petitioner, Thomas T. Cummings, pled guilty in the Shelby County Criminal Court to second degree murder. Pursuant to a negotiated plea agreement, he was sentenced as a violent offender to twenty-five years incarceration, to be served at one hundred percent (100%), in the Tennessee Department of Correction. The petitioner timely filed for post-conviction relief, alleging that he received ineffective assistance of counsel and that his plea was not knowing and voluntary because his attorney erroneously advised him that he would be required to serve only eighty-five percent (85%) of his sentence before becoming eligible for parole and that his sentence could be reduced an additional fifteen percent (15%) for "good behavior." On appeal, the petitioner challenges the post-conviction court's conclusion that he received effective assistance of counsel. After a review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.