The Minnesota Supreme Court on Thursday affirmed the conviction of Rashad Raleigh, who pleaded guilty to first-degree premeditated murder in the May 2007 death of Ramsey County probation officer Howard Porter.
Raleigh, 31, argued in his appeal that he should have been allowed to withdraw his guilty plea before he was sentenced in September 2008 to life in prison without the possibility of parole. His attorney argued to the district court that it should allow Raleigh to withdraw his plea because of stress, improper pressure to plead guilty, mental health issues and understanding the plea's consequences. The district court, however, denied the motion and the high court sided with the lower court.
Raleigh and Tyvarus Lee Lindsey, 28, who is in prison for another murder, also were charged last month in federal court with the 2007 murders of Maria McLay, 32, her boyfriend, Otahl Saunders, 31, and her 15-year-old daughter Brittany Kekedakis in their home in St. Paul's North End.
PAT PHEIFER
