Commonwealth v. Fenton

I respectfully dissent. This appeal presents an opportunity to interpret the gradation section of the escape statute, 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 5121. To resolve this appeal correctly, I believe it is necessary to address an issue raised in appellant’s post-verdict motions but not directly argued on appeal. Following his guilty plea on the felonious escape charge, the appellant filed a motion to withdraw his plea and a motion to modify sentence. Therein, the appellant alleged, inter alia, that the escape charge was, in fact, a misdemeanor of the second degree not a felony of the third degree; thus, his…