Court Opinion

ID: 9701268
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-25 22:13:26.039653+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:21:21.869183
License: Public Domain

NIX, Chief Justice,
concurring.
I concur in the conclusion that Appellant’s counsel was not ineffective for failing to object to a jury instruction which lacked a definition of torture. Additionally, I do not believe that counsel was ineffective for failing to request an instruction defining torture. In Commonwealth v. Nelson, 514 Pa. 262, 523 A.2d 728, cert. denied, Pennsylvania v. Nelson, 484 U.S. 928, 108 S.Ct. 293, 98 L.Ed.2d 253 (1987), this Court held that a jury instruction which lacked a legal definition of torture was prejudicially deficient. Prior to the Nelson decision in 1987, it was the belief of this Court “that the meaning of [the term ‘torture’ was] a matter of common knowledge, so that an ordinary man would not have to guess at what was intended.” Commonwealth v. Pursell, 508 Pa. 212, 238, 495 A.2d 183,196 (1985) (citation omitted). It is therefore difficult to conceive of a legitimate basis that would justify a finding of ineffectiveness of Appellant’s counsel for failing to request the legal definition of a jury instruction that was not required at the time.
As I stated in my concurrence in this case on direct appeal, “I believe the circumstances justified the jury in concluding *544that the defendant intended not only to take the life of this young child but also to do it in such a manner that would cause excruciating pain.” Accordingly, I concur in the affir-mance of the judgment of sentence.