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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 However, when D's counsel approached the prosecutor, he was told that a mistake had been made and the offer was withdrawn.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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