Opinion ID: 2257638
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Voluntariness of the Plea

Text: In his second claim of error, Appellant argues that the trial court improperly imposed the death penalty because he did not enter his guilty pleas knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently. More specifically, Appellant posits that he was not given information by his attorney that his sentence could have been twenty years to life in prison. (Brief of Appellant at 7). As Appellant himself admits in his Brief, he is essentially arguing ineffective assistance of counsel which would need to be raised in a future appeal. ( Id. ); see Commonwealth v. Grant, 572 Pa. 48, 813 A.2d 726, 738 (2002) ([A]s a general rule, a petitioner should wait to raise claims of ineffective assistance of trial counsel until collateral review.). Accordingly, we dismiss the instant claim without prejudice to Appellant's ability to raise it in pursuing post-conviction collateral relief.