Title: Comm. v. Robinson (Dissenting Opinion)
Citation: N/A
Docket Number: 174 CAPITAL APPEAL DOCKET
State: Pennsylvania
Issuer: Pennsylvania Supreme Court
Date: November 25, 1998

[J-102-98] IN THE SUPREME COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA EASTERN DISTRICT COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, Appellee v. ANTYANE ROBINSON, Appellant : : : : : : : : : : : 174 Capital Appeal Docket Appeal from the judgment of sentence entered on April 1, 1997 in the Court of Common Pleas of Cumberland County, at No. 1183 Criminal Term 1996 ARGUED: April 28, 1998 DISSENTING OPINION MR. CHIEF JUSTICE FLAHERTY DECIDED: November 24, 1998 Although the majority opinion correctly states the law pertaining to Simmons instructions, I dissent. There can be no harm in instructing juries that in Pennsylvania appellant would be statutorily ineligible for parole if sentenced to life in prison, but that a life sentence may nonetheless be commuted by the governor. Without such an instruction, on the other hand, a jury might erroneously believe that a prisoner sentenced to life could be paroled within a period of years and therefore impose the death penalty for reasons which are not based in law. I would mandate a Simmons instruction, explaining what a life sentence means in Pennsylvania, in every death penalty case. Therefore, I would vacate the sentence of death and remand for a new sentencing hearing.