Plea No Bargain

Gamble of a lifetime

Harry Seigler, on trial in Richmond for robbery and murder, was sitting in a courthouse jail cell one afternoon last week, awaiting the jury's verdict. Charged with robbing a local insurance salesman last December and then slashing his throat, Seigler, 30, had pleaded not guilty.

The jurors had begun deliberating around 3 in the afternoon, and it was now around 6:30 p.m. Prosecutor Warren Von Schuch was worried. As he later put it, "The longer a [jury] panel is out, the worse shape we're in." And so he proposed a deal to Seigler's attorneys: their client would plead guilty to first-degree murder and robbery and receive a 60-year prison term, with 20 years suspended.

Perhaps Seigler, already convicted three times for robbery, calculated that if he was convicted for capital murder, he might be sent to the electric chair like Frank Coppola, a fellow Virginian executed two weeks ago. At 7:25 p.m., Seigler, ushered into the courtroom of Judge William E. Spain, accepted the deal. The jury, which had sent word of a verdict, was kept waiting while Spain approved the new plea. After Seigler was led away, the judge invited the jury into the room and informed them of the guilty plea. One juror slumped in a chair, while several others just moaned. What was the matter? The jurors had already reached a verdict: not guilty.

Seigler must serve his sentence and will not be eligible for parole for twelve years. Said Defense Attorney John Dodson: "I can't tell you how badly he feels."