State v. Ditges

More than thirteen years after he was sentenced to life for second-degree murder, Appellant filed a pro se motion under Kan. Stat. Ann. 22-3504 to correct an illegal sentence. In his motion, Appellant claimed that his sentence was illegal because the district court failed to include a jury instruction on voluntary manslaughter as a lesser included offense to first-degree murder. The district court denied the motion. On appeal, Appellant claimed that the district court should have construed his pro se pleading as being a motion under Kan. Stat. Ann. 60-1507. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) section 22-3504(1) was the wrong vehicle to challenge the alleged instruction error, and a section 60-1507 motion was untimely; and (2) further, Appellant’s failure to request an instruction on voluntary manslaughter erected a considerable obstacle to obtaining relief. View "State v. Ditges" on Justia Law