{Frankfort, Kentucky}...Friday, the Kentucky Court of Appeals ordered a new trial for Honduras native Jose Padilla, a convicted drug trafficker who won a 2010 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, overturning his conviction. Padilla, a U.S. military veteran who received an honorable discharge after serving in Vietnam, was driving 32,000 pounds of cargo from California to Illinois when he passed through Kentucky and was stopped near Elizabethtown in Hardin County. A police search of his truck turned up 23 boxes of marijuana consisting of 1,000 pounds. After being told by his attorney that deportation wasn't an issue, Padilla agreed to a guilty plea. After being paroled from state prison, Padilla learned he was going to be returned to Honduras. U.S. Judge Kelly Thompson concluded that because Padilla wasn't properly informed about possible deportation, his decision to accept a guilty plea and a five-year prison sentence wasn't rational. Judge Thompson said, if Padilla been properly informed, he would have insisted on going to trial. Hardin Circuit Judge Kelly Easton ruled that Padilla made a reasonable decision to take a plea, despite the errant advice from his attorney.Sunday, September 30, 2012
New Trial For Honduras Native
{Frankfort, Kentucky}...Friday, the Kentucky Court of Appeals ordered a new trial for Honduras native Jose Padilla, a convicted drug trafficker who won a 2010 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, overturning his conviction. Padilla, a U.S. military veteran who received an honorable discharge after serving in Vietnam, was driving 32,000 pounds of cargo from California to Illinois when he passed through Kentucky and was stopped near Elizabethtown in Hardin County. A police search of his truck turned up 23 boxes of marijuana consisting of 1,000 pounds. After being told by his attorney that deportation wasn't an issue, Padilla agreed to a guilty plea. After being paroled from state prison, Padilla learned he was going to be returned to Honduras. U.S. Judge Kelly Thompson concluded that because Padilla wasn't properly informed about possible deportation, his decision to accept a guilty plea and a five-year prison sentence wasn't rational. Judge Thompson said, if Padilla been properly informed, he would have insisted on going to trial. Hardin Circuit Judge Kelly Easton ruled that Padilla made a reasonable decision to take a plea, despite the errant advice from his attorney.