Is a plea of guilty to one count of murder in the first degree valid to avoid the possibility of the death penalty?

Appellant plead guilty to one count of murder in the first degree under 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1111. That statute provides for the possibility of a death penalty. Thus, appellant's two court-appointed attorneys were correct when they told him that he may have faced a death sentence if he was found guilty at trial. In fact, failure to advise him of this consequence would have constituted ineffective representation. See Risher v. United States, 992 F.2d 982, 983 (9th Cir.1993).

It does not matter that the Justice Department had not yet decided whether or not to seek the death penalty at the time of the plea bargain. In fact, all the defense attorneys encouraged the Government to postpone the indictment to allow time for the negotiation of a plea bargain. A plea of guilty is not invalid merely because it is entered into to avoid the possibility of a death penalty. Brady v. United States, 397 U.S. 742, 755 (1970).