| Court to hear testimony for conviction relief motion | | Posted: Thursday, September 9, 2010 12:23 pm
| The case surrounding the serial rapes in Weakley County will once again be heard in a Weakley County courtroom. This time, however, the expected testimony will involve the post conviction relief requested by the person who pleaded guilty to the crimes.
John Miles of Union City and attorney for Bruce Tuck told the court during a hearing on Thursday that “there were a number of issues” regarding his client’s confidence in his guilty plea.
Miles mentioned that Tuck had requested the court at the time of sentencing to consider his law enforcement background and record before handing down a concurrent sentence as opposed to a consecutive sentence. Tuck was sentenced on 19 counts of a 21-count indictment that included aggravated rapes and kidnapping.
He was sentenced to a consecutive total of 60 years in prison.
Circuit Court Judge William Acree granted Miles an Oct. 14 court date to hear testimony from Tuck’s mental health evaluator as a part of the post conviction relief process.
Tuck filed a petition for relief from conviction in Weakley County May 19.
In the 10-page petition, Tuck claims he was coerced into offering a confession; denied effective assistance of counsel and his guilty plea was involuntarily entered without understanding the nature and consequences of the plea.
WCP 9.07.10 | | | | |
