Robert M. Brady v. United States

BREITENSTEIN, Circuit Judge.

Appellant seeks § 2255 relief from a 50-year sentence imposed on his guilty plea to a violation of the Federal Kid-naping Act. 18 U.S.C. § 1201. The district court held an evidentiary hearing and denied relief.

In United States v. Jackson, 390 U.S. 570, 88 S.Ct. 1209, 20 L.Ed.2d 138, the Court held that the death penalty provision of the Federal Kidnaping Act imposed an impermissible burden on the exercise of a constitutional right but that such provision is separable and does not destroy the remainder of the Act. The Court recognized that the presence of the…