Timothy Parody, who was 17 when he committed the charged acts, pleaded guilty but mentally ill to two counts of child molestation in exchange for dismissal of three aggravated-child-molestation charges. Before the plea, three mental-health evaluations addressed his condition; one described serious doubts about his ability to understand the proceedings, while a later Georgia Regional evaluation found him competent. Parody’s plea counsel knew of the conflicting material, but the trial court accepted the plea after a colloquy and imposed fifteen years in prison followed by fifteen years of probation. The habeas court granted relief, finding counsel ineffective for failing to investigate and present mitigating competency evidence. The Supreme Court of Georgia reversed. It held that counsel reasonably relied on the recent competency evaluation, the plea court’s firsthand assessment, and the favorable negotiated disposition, and that Parody failed to show a reasonable probability of a different result under Strickland. Justice Benham, joined by Justice Hunstein, dissented, reasoning that counsel should have pursued a formal competency determination and that the conflicting evidence could establish prejudice. All other participating justices concurred in the judgment.