Henderson v. Morgan

Morgan (defendant), previously institutionalized as a child for being labeled 'retarded,' fatally stabbed his employer, Ada Francisco, after an argument. Charged with first-degree murder, he accepted a plea deal to second-degree murder for 25 years, but neither his attorney nor the judge explained that intent to cause death was an element of second-degree murder, and no one confirmed he understood that element.

Whether a defendant's guilty plea is knowing and voluntary if the defendant was not advised of a significant element of the charged offense.