FULLER v. ISRAEL
421 F.Supp. 582 (1976)
Thomas Charles FULLER, II, Petitioner,
v.
Thomas ISRAEL, Respondent.
No. 75-3-278.
United States District Court, E. D. Illinois.
October 28, 1976.
Michael Mulder, Asst. State Appellate Defender, 2nd Judicial District, Elgin, Ill., for petitioner.
James B. Zagel, Asst. Atty. Gen., Chicago, Ill., for respondent.
FOREMAN, District Judge:
Petitioner, Thomas Charles Fuller, II, presently incarcerated at Menard Correctional Center, Chester, Illinois, seeks Habeas Corpus relief from a conviction for Murder. 28 U.S.C. § 2254.
The Petitioner was arrested on April 28, 1968, and charged with the murder of five children in Coles County, Illinois. On October 23, 1968, he pled guilty to five counts of Murder and was sentenced on December 10, 1968, to an indeterminate term of 70 to 99 years on each count. There was no direct appeal.
On July 14, 1971, Petitioner filed a post-conviction petition alleging inter alia; that his constitutional rights were violated because of a conflict of interest involving his trial counsel. Following an evidentiary hearing the trial court entered an order denying the relief requested, and the Petitioner appealed the denial of his post-conviction petition. The trial court's decision was affirmed by the Appellate Court of Illinois for the Fourth District on August 15, 1974. Petitioner sought leave to appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court, which was denied on November 26, 1974.
On the date of Petitioner's arrest, William A. Cherikos (Cherikos), the Public Defender of Coles County, was appointed counsel for the Petitioner. A preliminary hearing was held on May 3, 1968. On May 20 or 23, 1968, a second attorney, Whitney D. Hardy (Hardy), was appointed as co-counsel for Petitioner. Both attorneys represented the Petitioner until he was sentenced on December 10, 1968.
Sometime between Hardy's appointment in May 1968 and December 8, 1968, a contract, prepared by Hardy, was entered into between the Petitioner, Petitioner's mother, and Hardy. The record is unclear as to the precise date on which the agreement was signed; however, the evidence tends to show that it was signed sometime early in December. What is clear is that it was signed sometime after Petitioner's plea of guilty on October 23, 1968, but before his sentencing on December 10, 1968. Under the terms of the contract, Hardy agreed to perform all legal services and to render advice in reference to the protection of Petitioner's "common-law" rights to the unpublished writings and video tapes. In consideration for such services, Hardy was to receive a contingent fee equal to one-third of any royalties received if and when publication occurred. The contract was terminated in January 1969 at the request of Petitioner. The Petitioner, prior to entering into the contract, had written three books and had kept a diary of his daily activities; although none of his works had ever been published. In addition, Petitioner had submitted to a psychiatric examination at the Menninger Clinic, and the examination had been recorded on video tape.