This section contains the nature of the case and procedural background.

Johnson (D) was tried and convicted of burglary, assault, and murder, all stemming from the same incident. The murder conviction was set aside by the Arkansas Supreme Court. While D was serving time for the burglary and assault convictions, a deputy prosecutor offered his counsel a bargain: a concurrent sentence in exchange for a plea of guilty on the murder charge. D's counsel gave him the offer the next day, and D accepted. However, when D's counsel approached the prosecutor, he was told that a mistake had been made and the offer was withdrawn. The prosecutor gave a new offer of a consecutive sentence. D refused and went to trial. The judge declared a mistrial on the second day, and plea negotiations resumed. This time, D accepted the same offer he had previously rejected. The federal Court of Appeals reversed on habeas review, concluding that fairness precluded the prosecution's withdrawal of a plea proposal once accepted by D.

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