Robert H. Runge v. United States of America, Robert H. Runge v. United States

HILL, Circuit Judge.

In this consolidated case, appellant seeks reversal of two judgments which denied motions to vacate under 28 U.S. C. § 2255. The central issue before this court now is whether appellant’s plea of guilty was coerced because of the possibility of a jury-imposed death penalty under the Federal Kidnapping Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1201(a).

The settled rule is that a plea of guilty is void and subject to a § 2255 collateral attack when threats or promises divest it of the character of a voluntary act. 1 When a coerced plea is the issue, all matters bearing on that allegation must be…