Appeals court refuses to overturn rape conviction

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The Wisconsin Court of Appeals refused to overturn the conviction of a Somali refugee who argued that a Milwaukee County judge didn’t properly explain the ramifications a plea would have on his immigration status.

Ali Mursal, 27, is serving a 60-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to charges stemming from his participation in the kidnapping and rape of a then-17-year-old girl.

In Mursal’s most recent appeal, his counsel asked that he be allowed to withdraw his plea, in part because, defense counsel said, Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Carl Ashley didn’t properly explain how a conviction would affect Mursal’s U.S. residency or his chances of deportation. Mursal’s counsel argued the ramifications were not clear because the judge didn’t use the exact statutory language.

But the higher court’s decision, released Tuesday, said Mursal’s argument is not supported in his appeal. The opinion states that Ashley’s “language deviated – very slightly – from the exact language expressed by the statute,” but the points the judge needed to make were clear.

“Substantively, the trial court’s warning complied perfectly with the statute,” the appeals court wrote, “and linguistically, the differences were so slight that they did not alter the meaning of the warning in any way.”

The court noted that “the statutory language is strongly preferred,” however.

Mursal’s counsel also argued that Ashley did not properly justify his sentence and that the sentence itself was excessive. The appeals court shot down those claims, as well.

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