John J. Dean, John R. Cook, Pittsburgh, for appellant.
John J. Hickton, Dist. Atty., Robert L. Eberhardt, Asst. Dist. Atty., Pittsburgh, for appellee.
Jones, C. J., and Eagen, O'Brien, Roberts, Pomeroy, Nix and Manderino, JJ.
In September, 1970, appellant William Hines pleaded guilty to a charge of murder. A degree of guilt hearing was held and appellant was found guilty of murder
in the first degree and sentenced to life inprisonment. Post-trial motions were filed and denied, but no direct appeal was taken. Subsequently, appellant filed a petition under the Post-Conviction Hearing Act,*fn1 contending that his plea of guilty was invalid because involuntary and made without understanding of its consequences. Counsel was appointed to represent him and a hearing was held, after which the PCHA court denied relief on the ground that the plea was voluntarily and intelligently entered. This appeal followed.*fn2 We affirm because appellant has failed to show that his claim was not waived.*fn3
Section 3 of the Post-Conviction Hearing Act provides, in pertinent part:
"To be eligible for relief under this act, a person . . . must prove the following:
"(d) That the error resulting in his conviction has not been . . . waived."
Section 4 defines waiver as follows:
"(b) For purposes of this act, an issue ...