William J. Brennan, Jr.

“ Last Term, this Court held, over my dissent, that a plea of guilty may validly be induced by an unconstitutional threat to subject the defendant to the risk to death, so long as the plea is entered in open court and the defendant is represented by competent counsel who is aware of the threat, albeit not of its unconstitutionality. ”

“ With these factors in mind, it is sufficient in my view to state that the facts set out in the majority opinion demonstrate that Alford was 'so gripped by fear of the death penalty' [2] that his decision to plead guilty was not voluntary but was 'the product of duress as much so as choice reflecting physical constraint.' Haley v. ”