In terms of Mr. Coke's ultimate sentence, the upshot of the unusual proceeding may be very little.
Since 1977, when Illinois had restored the death penalty, 270 men and women had received the ultimate sentence.
Ms. Hanaway, who initially had sought a 30-year sentence, said that although sentencing guidelines suggested that prison terms be served simultaneously, the judge had ultimate sentencing discretion.
"But, in our system of justice," Ms. White said, "the ultimate sentence of death requires the unanimous vote of all 12 jurors.
"I don't know," he said, "that we want to have the ultimate sentencing decision in the hands of a jury".
The additional $2.5 million in insider trading profits was unlikely to have a significant effect on the ultimate sentence, so prosecutors did not give up much to get a case resolved without having to go to trial.
He has never stopped talking about both the Shabab and the Qaeda branch in Yemen, officials say, and he knows that his ultimate sentence will depend on his cooperation.
He said he could remain on bail in the meantime, but warned: "It must, however, be fully understood that in terms of the ultimate sentence, nothing must be read into that".
In California, which has death penalty statutes on the books and the greatest number of prisoners with death sentences, but which has only executed 13 people since 1976, those convicted of heinous crimes might face the ultimate sentence but are generally secure in the knowledge that they'll likely never face the ultimate punishment.
As a fallback, Mr. Coombs is hoping the court will at least give Private Manning extra credit against any ultimate sentence for the time he spent held under harsh conditions at Quantico and earlier in Kuwait, where he was kept in what he described as "an animal cage".
