Gladden v. State

In early March 1973 the petitioner, John Michael (“Box”) Gladden, sold to his erstwhile friend Walter Edward (“Rabbi”) Siegel 1 two ten dollar bags of heroin — at a discount — for $19. Disenchanted with the chemical quality of the contraband, Siegel, three or four days later, confronted his vendor in the privacy of a bathroom in a nearby tavern, and with a .22 caliber revolver as a persuader, recouped ten dollars and five bags of what he trusted might be better grade heroin. Needless to say, the petitioner, chagrined by such a forcible commercial transaction, vowed revenge and sought out…