The 57-year-old was sentenced to die March 25, 1983, for murdering a Russiaville couple.

No execution date has been set, but with the rate of executions this year, it could be soon, according to Lorinda Youngcourt, Bieghler's attorney.

On Wednesday, the state executed Alan Matheney, 54, for killing Lisa Bianco in 1989 outside her Mishawaka home, just east of South Bend.

Matheney's death was the state's fifth this year, the most since the death penalty was reinstated in the '70s.

The state attorney general's office has said that Bieghler and Michael Lambert, was convicted in the 1990 shooting death of a Muncie police officer, could be the next death row inmates to be put to death this year. Both have appeals pending in federal courts.

According to Youngcourt, Bieghler was denied a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in 7th U.S. District Court in Chicago in 2003, leaving him with one last appeal, which was filed earlier this year.

"We're done with the 7th Circuit, now we are preparing writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington D.C., the last step on his appeal's process," she said.

A conference is expected in the next couple of weeks.

Bieghler is the only Howard County man on death row.

"It's quite tiring, emotionally and professionally," Youngcourt said of fighting the death sentence. "It's quite a drain. Marvin Bieghler always has been my favorite client and one of my longest clients."

Bieghler was convicted of the execution-style shooting deaths of Tommy Miller, 20, and his pregnant wife, Kimberly Jane (Wright) Miller, 19, who were found dead Dec. 11, 1981, in their mobile home near Russiaville. The ruling in Howard Superior Court 1 has left him on death row since 1983.

Judge Dennis Parry, ordered Bieghler to die after jurors convicted him of two counts of murder and recommended the death penalty.

John Sissom, jury foreman in the Bieghler trial 22 years ago, said he is still convinced Bieghler is guilty and should be put to death. As jury foreman, the Delco Electronics engineer signed the written recommendation for the death penalty.

"I think it's a shame it's taken so long," Sissom said.

Fellow juror Jeffrey W. Berry said Bieghler's life is now in the court's hands.

"We did our job as jurors," said Berry. "It's been more than 20 years -- it's been a long time. [Bieghler] put himself in that position and whatever the court's decide is his fate."

The case

Tommy Miller was shot in the chest six times. His wife, who was four to eight weeks pregnant, was shot three times in the chest. Bieghler dropped a dime on each of the dead bodies, according to court records.

By dropping the dimes on the bodies, authorities said that Bieghler was sending a message to other possible informants that snitches die and that they won't be tolerated.

Bieghler, a reputed supplier and dealer of marijuana in Howard County, was convinced Tommy Miller told police about his drug operation, according to court documents. He also claimed Tommy Miller owed him a drug debt.

Authorities said the man was not a police informant.

According to the Supreme Court, Bieghler's drug-dealing partner, Harold K. "Scotty" Brook, also testified at Bieghler's trial that someone had "dropped a dime" on Robert Nutt Jr., one of Bieghler's main distributors. Nutt was arrested prior to the shootings, resulting in the seizure of a large amount of marijuana supplied by Bieghler.

Brook also testified that he was with Bieghler the night they drove to the couple's mobile home. He also said he saw Bieghler pointing a .38-caliber handgun into one of the rooms. He said he did not hear any shots while in the trailer nor the crying of the Millers' child, who was in a crib nearby. According to police records, Bieghler then ran from the trailer with Brook in tow. The gun was not found, but nine spent .38-caliber shell casings were found at the scene, which matched casings found at a shooting range where Bieghler fired his .38 for target practice.

Brook made a plea agreement with prosecutors in exchange for his testimony. He was convicted on unrelated charges and was sentenced to less than 10 years in prison.

Nutt also testified at the trial for the state in exchange for probation.

Youngcourt, who has been fighting for Bieghler's life for 14 years, said there's still some unanswered questions in the case.

"It's a troubling case," she said. "There are guilt, innocence questions in the case that the appellate courts can't quite reach. There were two other people [Brook and Nutt] that had just as much a motive to kill them as Marvin did. They just got to the prosecution first."

Mike Fletcher may be reached at (765) 454-8565 or via e-mail at mike.fletcher@kokomotribune.com