Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District / Apr 8, 2020
CONNIE SANDERS-FORD, Appellant v. STATE OF MISSOURI, Respondent
Connie Sanders-Ford, convicted of first-degree murder and armed criminal action, appealed the denial of her Rule 29.15 motion for post-conviction relief. She claimed ineffective assistance of counsel for rejecting a plea offer due to misadvice about parole eligibility under Section 558.019.3 RSMo. The motion court denied relief, finding she failed to prove prejudice because the prosecutor would have withdrawn the plea offer if the mistake had been discovered. The appellate court affirmed, agreeing that Movant's argument relied on speculation and failed to demonstrate clear error in the motion court's finding.