We have accepted this case in our original jurisdiction to consider whether our decision in Whetsell v. State, 276 S.C. 295, 277 S.E.2d 891 (1981), procedurally bars collateral review of guilt phase issues raised by a capital defendant who admits *356guilt during the sentencing phase of trial. We hold it does not.

FACTS

In 1985, petitioner Johnson fatally shot a motorist, Dan Swanson, with whom he had hitched a ride. Petitioner concealed the body in the back of the victim’s recreational vehicle and continued driving. When Trooper Bruce Smalls stopped petitioner for driving erratically, petitioner shot him to death.

In February 1986, petitioner was convicted and sentenced to death in Jasper County for the murder of Trooper Smalls. This conviction was reversed on appeal. State v. Johnson, 293 S.C. 321, 360 S.E.2d 317 (1987).1 Petitioner was retried and again sentenced to death. This sentence was upheld on appeal. State v. Johnson, 306 S.C. 119, 410 S.E.2d 547 (1991), cert. denied, 503 U.S. 993, 112 S.Ct. 1691, 118 L.Ed.2d 404 (1992).

Petitioner sought post-conviction relief (PCR) on several grounds. In its 1994 order, the PCR court addressed petitioner’s issues on the merits and denied relief. On two issues, it ruled in the alternative that relief was procedurally barred because petitioner had admitted his guilt during his statement to the jury in the sentencing phase of his trial. The PCR court cited Whetsell as support for this procedural bar. Petitioner sought review in this Court but did not challenge the PCR court’s Whetsell ruling. We denied review.

In December 1996, petitioner filed a federal habeas corpus action in federal district court. The district court concluded petitioner’s guilt phase issues were procedurally barred citing the PCR court’s ruling under Whetsell because this was an adequate and independent state procedural rule. Further, it found relief should be denied on the substantive issues in any event. On appeal, a two-judge majority of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed in an unpublished opinion with one dissenter. Johnson v. Moore, 1998 WL 708691 (4th Cir. 1998). The majority agreed with the district court’s application of *357Whetsell and in the alternative affirmed on the merits of the issues raised.

Petitioner then filed this petition for habeas corpus raising the procedural question whether Whetsell precludes collateral review and alleging several substantive grounds for relief. We deny relief on the substantive grounds raised in the petition for habeas corpus2 but accept consideration of the Whetsell issue because it is an important one in statewide capital litigation.

DISCUSSION

Whetsell is a guilty plea case in which PCR was granted on the ground counsel was ineffective for failing to move to suppress evidence. In reversing the grant of relief, this Court cited State v. Sroka, 267 S.C. 664, 230 S.E.2d 816 (1976), for the proposition that “review of a trial error is unnecessary where a defendant admits in open court after his conviction that he is guilty.” 277 S.E.2d at 892. We then concluded: “Here, [the PCR applicants] not only reiterated their guilt at the post conviction hearing, but stated they would plead guilty again if granted a new trial.” Id. In the case now before us, the PCR court and the federal courts agreed with the State that this language in Whetsell bars a capital defendant who admits his guilt at sentencing from *358collateral review of guilt phase errors. This is an incorrect reading of Whetsell.

The operative fact in Whetsell is not the admission of guilt but the fact that the PCR applicants in that case stated they would plead guilty again if granted a new trial.3 A defendant who pleads guilty on the advice of counsel may collaterally attack the plea only by showing that (1) counsel was ineffective and (2) there is a reasonable probability that but for counsel’s errors, the defendant would not have pled guilty. Wolfe v. State, 326 S.C. 158, 485 S.E.2d 367 (1997); Satterwhite v. State, 325 S.C. 254, 481 S.E.2d 709 (1997). Thus, the PCR applicants in Whetsell could not prevail on their claims of ineffectiveness because they failed to meet the second prong, or prejudice prong, of this analysis.

In Craddock v. State, 327 S.C. 303, 491 S.E.2d 251 (1997), we specifically rejected the State’s contention that Whetsell barred collateral review. The Craddock case distinguishes Whetsell on the ground Craddock stated he would not have pled guilty but for counsel’s error. Unlike the applicants in Whetsell, Craddock was therefore able to satisfy the prejudice prong despite his admission of guilt and, accordingly, Whetsell did not apply. 491 S.E.2d at 251-52.4

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, Whetsell does not stand for the proposition that a defendant who admits his guilt is barred from collater*359ally attacking his conviction. Whetsell stands only for the narrow proposition that a PCR. applicant who has pled guilty on advice of counsel cannot satisfy the prejudice prong on collateral attack if he states he would have pled guilty in any event. Accordingly, Whetsell does not bar a capital defendant who admits his guilt at sentencing from challenging guilt phase errors on collateral attack.

QUESTION ANSWERED.

I respectfully concur in part and dissent in part. I concur with the majority opinion insofar as it addresses and decides the only issue before the Court, that Whetsell v. State, 276 S.C. 295, 277 S.E.2d 891 (1981), does not bar collateral review of guilt phase issues when a capital defendant admits guilt1 during the sentencing phase of his trial. I dissent, however, from that part of the majority opinion which gratuitously addresses the merits of petitioner’s substantive Brady claim, and incorrectly holds the suppressed evidence was not material. I would simply omit footnote 2.