A Moscow man convicted of murdering three people in January 2015 submitted a handwritten motion last week to withdraw his guilty pleas, saying he was “not in the right state of mind” when he entered them.

John Lee was convicted in May of murdering his adoptive mother, Terri L. Grzebielski, his landlord, David M. Trail, and Moscow Arby’s manager Belinda G. Niebuhr, and injuring Michael M.M. Chin.

Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson agreed that Lee was mentally ill, but a danger to society. The judge agreed and sentenced him to a fixed life sentence on three counts of murder, in addition to 15 years for injuring Chin.

Lee wrote in the motion that he was not in the right state of mind when he accepted his plea deal, or when at his sentencing.

“Noises were affecting my decision-making and I didn’t feel I had free will,” Lee wrote in the motion.

He wrote that he had asked to withdraw the plea after a couple of days, but his defense said it was the best decision for him. He also wrote that he felt the guards were “pressuring me and in some instances torturing me” to accept the plea.

“I stated that I felt I didn’t have free will,” he wrote. “I didn’t like the conditions of the deal.”

He said these conditions included removing his right to appeal with Idaho Criminal Rule 35, which allows him to ask for a reduction in sentencing. He also denied he was happy with his defense.

“Now that I am properly medicated,” he wrote, “mental health problems will no longer interfere with my decision-making.”

However, Thompson said, his motion will be denied regardless. He said he doesn’t believe there is factual backing or a legal basis to Lee’s claim.

“The law is pretty clear,” he said. “People aren’t allowed to see sentences … and change their plea.”

The prosecuting office plans to file an appeal to the judge against Lee’s claims by the middle of next week.