Howard Wood, Appellant v. State of Arkansas, Appellee

Summary

The court affirmed the denial, without an evidentiary hearing, of Howard Wood’s postconviction petition challenging his guilty plea and thirty-year sentence. It held that Wood’s claims were either not cognizable, unsupported by the record, conclusory, or failed to allege that counsel’s errors caused him to plead guilty rather than proceed to trial. Justice Josephine Linker Hart, dissenting, would have reversed and remanded for a hearing, particularly to investigate Wood’s PTSD and its potential effect on his decision to plead guilty.