Richard C. Taylor v. State of Tennessee

The Petitioner, Richard C. Taylor, pled guilty to first degree premeditated murder and agreed to a life sentence. The Petitioner filed a pro se petition for post-conviction relief making several contentions regarding his competency. The Petitioner then filed a motion requesting a mental evaluation. The trial court held a hearing wherein it determined that the Petitioner had filed his petition beyond the statute of limitations. The trial court further determined, however, that the statute of limitations should be tolled if the Petitioner was, in fact, incompetent. It ordered the Petitioner to provide an affidavit from a treating physician saying he was incompetent at the time he entered his plea. The Petitioner failed to so do, and the trial court summarily dismissed the Petitioner’s petition. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that the trial court erred when it dismissed his petition because he was mentally incompetent to enter his guilty plea. After a thorough review of the record and applicable authorities, we conclude there exists no error in the judgment of the post-conviction court. Accordingly, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed.