Kenneth Hibbler tried to kill his eight-year old daughter multiple times during the early morning hours of July 24, 2003. He's been in jail or prison ever since then, having pled guilty in 2005 and been sentenced to 5 to 15 year.
He now wants to withdraw his guilty plea, claiming that he was incompetent at the time.
Emotionally, I almost want to let him. He's already served almost ten of his (maximum) 15 years. My heart tells me to let him withdraw the plea, charge him with attempted first-degree murder, and try to get an enhanced sentence. Dude tried to slice his daughter up. I wouldn't feel bad if we gave a shot towards piling some some extra time onto his sentence.
But, logically, Judge Ikuta gets it right. Habeas petition denied.
