Okla. Stat. tit. 43A § 1-103

C-2021-163

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In OCCA case No. C-2021-163, April Dawn Summers appealed her conviction for child abuse, child neglect, and enabling child abuse. In an unpublished decision, the court denied her appeal. One judge dissented. Summers was charged in Grady County with several serious offenses related to child abuse. She decided to plead guilty to these charges in December 2019. The judge accepted her plea but decided to wait to give her a sentence until a presentence investigation report was completed. In January 2021, after looking at evidence and hearing from lawyers, the judge sentenced Summers to fifty years in prison for each charge. However, she only had to serve twenty-five years, as the rest of her sentence was suspended. After sentencing, Summers wanted to change her guilty plea and claimed that she didn’t fully understand what she was doing when she pleaded guilty. She argued that her plea was not made knowingly or willingly, and she did not grasp the full consequences. She also said that she should not have to pay for the costs of her incarceration because of her mental health issues. The court reviewed her case and found that her plea was made voluntarily. They determined that she understood the charges and the risks of her guilty plea. Therefore, the court did not believe there was a reason to let her take back her plea. Regarding the costs of her incarceration, the court noted that Summers didn’t raise this issue when she tried to withdraw her plea. However, they acknowledged that her mental health might exempt her from such costs. Thus, they decided to investigate whether she is indeed considered mentally ill under the law, which could mean that she wouldn't have to pay. In summary, the court decided to keep her guilty plea in place, but they also said that it needs to be checked whether she qualifies as mentally ill to decide if she should be charged for her time in prison. The case was sent back to the lower court for further decisions on her mental health status.

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C-2017-684

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In OCCA case No. C-2017-684, Bryan Lee Guy appealed his conviction for possession of a stolen vehicle, driving while his license was under suspension, and affixing an unauthorized license plate. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to deny his appeal and remand the case to the District Court for a determination of whether he is a mentally ill person exempt from paying the costs of incarceration. One judge dissented. Bryan Guy was charged with three offenses and entered a guilty plea for all of them. He received a sentence that included time in prison and jail, plus post-imprisonment supervision. After a few days, he wanted to withdraw his guilty plea, saying he didn't fully understand what he was doing or that he wasn't well advised by his lawyer. The court held a hearing but decided not to allow him to withdraw his plea. In his appeal, Bryan raised three main issues. He argued that he should be allowed to take back his guilty plea because it wasn't made in a knowing, intelligent, and voluntary way. He also complained about being charged for incarceration costs and claimed his lawyer didn't provide effective help. The court looked closely at Bryan’s arguments. It found that he didn’t prove that he didn’t understand his plea, concluding that the trial court acted fairly. Bryan's second point about the costs also didn't stand because he didn't raise it during the first hearing, which meant he could not bring it up later in his appeal. His claim about not getting good help from his lawyer was examined using a specific test. The court noted that Bryan claimed to have been misinformed about the minimum punishment for one of the offenses, but this did not affect the outcome since the misunderstanding was in his favor. Ultimately, the court found that there was a chance Bryan might be mentally ill, which means he might not have to pay for incarceration costs. This was a significant factor, leading to the decision to send the case back to the lower court for more examination of his mental health status. The final decision of the court was to deny the appeal for the first two issues but recognized the need to assess Bryan's mental health concerning the costs he was ordered to pay for incarceration. The case was remanded for that specific determination.

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C-2015-514

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In OCCA case No. C-2015-514, Hanks appealed his conviction for Domestic Abuse and Malicious Injury to Property. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to deny his appeal but remanded the case to determine if Hanks was mentally ill, which would affect the costs he was assessed. One judge dissented. Hanks had pleaded guilty to two counts of Domestic Abuse and one count of Malicious Injury to Property in a state court. The judge sentenced him to three months in jail for one charge and one year suspended for the other two. He was also required to pay fines and fees. After entering his plea, Hanks tried to withdraw it, claiming he did not understand what he was doing and that he had poor legal help. The court looked at whether Hanks had made his plea knowingly and voluntarily. They found that he understood what he was doing and that his mental issues did not prevent him from understanding his plea. The court also considered Hanks' claim that his lawyer did not help him properly during the process and found no evidence to support this. One important point in the decision focused on the costs Hanks had to pay related to his time in jail. The court noted that because he had a mental illness diagnosis, he might not have to pay these costs according to state law, which says that mentally ill people should be exempt from such fees. Because of this, the court sent the case back for further evaluation of Hanks' mental health status to see if he qualified for the exemption. Overall, the court upheld the original decision while allowing for further examination of Hanks' mental health to understand his financial obligations better.

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C-2010-337

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In OCCA case No. C-2010-337, Derrick Ewayne Bickham appealed his conviction for felonious pointing of a firearm and being a felon in possession of a firearm. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to deny his appeal. One member dissented. Bickham entered no contest pleas for several charges in a District Court, resulting in a 20-year sentence for robbery and other related offenses. He argued that his pleas were made under coercion and did not reflect a clear understanding of the situation due to his mental health issues. However, the court found that Bickham entered his pleas knowingly and voluntarily, dismissing his claims of coercion. Additionally, Bickham contested that he should not have to pay for the costs related to his incarceration. The court ruled that he could challenge the cost calculation in a different court proceeding. The decision denied Bickham's petition but sent the case back to the District Court to assess if he was considered mentally ill, which could exempt him from incarceration costs.

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