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Pennsylvania's Statutes The language of several Pennsylvania statutes needs to be summarized here for the readers' ready reference. 18 Code of Pennsylvania Statutes Annotated (CPSA) provides: 2501. Criminal homicide. (a) Offence defined.-A person is guilty of criminal homicide if he intentionally, knowingly, recklessly or negligently causes the death of another. 2502.Murder (a) Murder in the first degree. -A criminal homicide constitutes murder in the first degree when it is committed by an intentional killing. (d) Definitions.- "Intentional killing. " Killing by means of poison, or by lying in wait, or by any other kind of willful, deliberate and premeditated killing. 42 CPSA provides: 9711. Sentencing procedure for murder of the first degree. (c) Instructions to jury.- (1) Before the jury retires to consider the sentencing verdict, the court shall instruct the jury on the following matters: (iii) Aggravating circumstances must be proved by the Commonwealth beyond a reasonable doubt; mitigating circumstances must be proved by the defendant by a preponderance of the evidence. (iv) The verdict must be a sentence of death if the jury unanimously finds ... one or more aggravating circumstances which outweigh any mitigating circumstances. The verdict must be life imprisonment in all other cases.[i] (d) Aggravating circumstances.-Aggravating circumstances shall be limited to the following:[ii] (1) The victim was (an official in the performance of his duties)[iii] (2) The defendant paid or was paid by another person...[iv] (3) The victim was being held (for ransom or as a hostage).[v] (4) (The death occurred during a hijacking)[vi] (5) The victim was a prosecution witness...[vii] (6) The defendant committed a killing while in perpetration of a felony.[viii] (7) (the defendant knowingly created a grave risk to yet a third person)[ix] (8) The offense was committed by means of torture.[x] (9) The defendant has a significant history of (violent) felony convictions (10,11& 12) The defendant has been convicted of another ... offense ... for which life imprisonment or death was imposable...[xi] (13 & 14) The Defendant committed the killing ... while in the perpetration of a felony under ... The Controlled Substance Act.[xii] (15) (The victim was a nongovernmental informant) (16) The victim was a child under 12 years of age.[xiii] (17) ...the victim was in her third trimester of pregnancy... (18) (the defendant was under a protection from abuse order.) (e) Mitigating circumstances.-Mitigating circumstances shall include the following: (1) The defendant had no significant history of prior criminal convictions.[xiv] (2) The defendant was under the influence of extreme mental or emotional disturbance.[xv] (3) ... the defendant (did not) appreciate the criminality of his conduct...[xvi] (4) The age of the Defendant at the time.[xvii] (5) The defendant acted under extreme duress ... or substantial domination of another person.[xviii] (6) The victim was a participant in the defendant's homicidal conduct...[xix] (7) The defendant's participation in the homicidal act was relatively minor.[xx] (8) (Any other mitigating circumstance)[xxi] (f) Sentencing verdict by the jury. - (1) After hearing all the evidence and receiving the instructions from the court, the jury shall deliberate and render a sentencing verdict. In rendering the verdict, if the sentence is death, the jury shall set forth in such form as designated by the court the findings upon which the sentence is based. (2) Based upon these findings, the jury shall set forth in writing whether the sentence is death or life imprisonment. (h) Review of the death sentence.- (1) A sentence of death shall be subject to automatic review by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania... (2) In addition to its authority to correct errors at trial, the Supreme Court shall either affirm the sentence of death or vacate the sentence of death and remand for further proceedings... (3) The Supreme Court shall affirm the sentence of death unless it determines that: (i) the sentence was a product of passion, prejudice or any other arbitrary factor; or (ii) the evidence fails to support the finding of at least one aggravating circumstance. (4) If the Supreme Court determines that the death penalty must be vacated because none of the agitating circumstances are supported by sufficient evidence, then it shall remand for the imposition of a life imprisonment sentence. If the Supreme Court determines that the death penalty must be vacated for any other reason, it shall remand for a new sentencing hearing... (i) Record of death sentence to Governor.- Where a sentence of death is upheld by the Supreme Court, the prothonotary of the Supreme Court shall transmit to the Governor a full and complete record ... within 30 days of one of the following, whichever occurs first: (1) the expiration of the time period for filing (an appeal)... (2) the denial of a petition for (appeal) or (3) the disposition of the appeal by the United States Supreme Court... 42 CPSA, Chapter 95B then provides:[xxii] 9542 Scope of subchapter. This subchapter provides for an action by which persons convicted of crimes they did not commit and persons serving illegal sentences may obtain collateral relief... This subchapter is not intended to limit the availability of remedies in the trial court or on direct appeal from the judgment of sentence ... 9543. Eligibility for relief. (a) General rule.- To be eligible for relief under this subchapter, the petitioner must plead and prove by a preponderance of the evidence all of the following: (1) That the petitioner has been convicted of a crime under the laws of the commonwealth and is at the time relief is granted: (i) currently serving a sentence ... for the crime; (ii) awaiting execution of a sentence of death for the crime; (2) That the conviction resulted from one or more of the following: (i) A violation of the Constitution ... which, in the circumstances of the particular case, so undermined the truth determining process that no reliable adjudication of guilt of innocence could have taken place. (ii) Ineffective assistance of counsel ... (iii) A plea of guilty unlawfully induced ... (iv) The improper obstruction by government officials of the petitioner's right of appeal ... (vi) The unavailability at the time of trial of exculpatory evidence that has subsequently become available and would change the outcome of the trial if it had been introduced. (vii) The imposition of a sentence greater than the lawful maximum. (viii) A proceeding in a tribunal without jurisdiction. (3) That the allegation of error had not been previously litigated or waived. (4) That the failure to litigate the issue prior ... could not have been the result of any ... decision by counsel. 9544. Previous litigation and waiver. (a) ... an issue has been previously litigated if (it has been decided by the appellate court, or by collateral review.) (b) ... an issue is waived if the petitioner could have raised it but failed to do so... 9545. Jurisdiction and proceedings. (a) (Petitions shall be filed in the trial court.) (1) (1) (Petitions) shall be filed within one year of the date the judgment becomes final,* unless the petition alleges and the petitioner proves that: (i) the failure to raise the claim previously was the result of interference by government officials ... {(4)not including defense counsel} (ii) the facts upon which the claim is predicated were unknown to the petitioner and could not have been ascertained by the exercise of due diligence; or (iii) the right asserted is a constitutional right that was recognized by the (Supreme Court) after the time period provided in this section and has been held by that court to apply retroactively. (3) * ... a judgment becomes final at the conclusion of direct review {9711(h)}or at the expiration of the time for seeking the review. (2) (2) ... no stay (of execution) may be issued unless a petition for post conviction relief ... has been filed and is pending... 9729. Intermediate Punishment. A person convicted of
(murder) shall be ineligible for (alternative sentencing). |
[i]. This
is consistent with 28 United States Code (U.S.C.) 3501.
[ii]. Sen.
Greenleaf has proposed aggravating circumstance 19, that the murder was
committed to obtain the victim’s insurance benefits. There is also consideration of “random acts of violence.”
[iii]. This
is consistent with 18 U.S.C. 34(14).
[iv]. This
is consistent with 18 U.S.C. 34(14).
[v]. This
is consistent with 18 U.S.C. 34(7&8).
[vi]. This
is consistent with 49 U.S.C.App. 1472(i),(n),1473(c).
[vii]. This
is consistent with 18 U.S.C. 34(l).
[viii]. This
is consistent with 18 U.S.C. 34(5).
[ix]. This
is consistent with IS U.S.C. 34(6).
[x]. This
is consistent with IS U.S.C. 34(2,3&4).
[xi]. This
is consistent with 21 U.S.C. 848, and 18 U.S.C. 34(10,12&13).
[xii]. This
is consistent with IS U.S.C. 34(l 1).
[xiii]. This
is consistent with 18 U.S.C. 3592.
[xiv]. This
is consistent with 18 U.S.C. 3592.
[xv]. This
is consistent with 18 U.S.C. 3592.
[xvi]. SB26
Session 2001 would set 70 as the IQ at which a person would be presumed
incompetent of capital crime.
[xvii]. SB27
Session 2001 would set 17 as the age of incompetence in capital crimes. A crime committed when a person was 17 or
younger could not result in execution.
[xviii]. This
is consistent with 18 U.S.C. 3592.
[xix]. This
is consistent with 18 U.S.C. 3592.
[xx]. This
is consistent with 18 U.S.C. 3592.
[xxi]. This
is consistent with 18 U.S.C. 3592.
[xxii]. 42
CPSA, Subchapter 95B, "The Post Conviction Relief Act" was passed on
May 13, 1982. "The Unitary Review in Death Penalty Cases Act" 42
CPSA, Subchapter 95D, was added on November 17, 1995, and provided "the
sole means of challenging proceedings that resulted in a sentence of death."
The Unitary Review in Death Penalty Cases Act, and any provisions of the Post
Conviction Relief Act which pertained to Unitary Review, were suspended by
Order of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on August 11, 1997.