Commonwealth v. Cruz

OPINION

Justice CASTILLE.

In this appeal under the Post Conviction Relief Act (“PCRA”), 42 Pa.C.S. § 9541 et seq., the issue is whether a petitioner’s alleged mental incompetence during which the statutory period for filing a PCRA petition expired may trigger the “after-discovered evidence” exception to the PCRA time-bar. See 42 Pa.C.S. § 9545(b)(1)(ii). We hold that mental incompetence at the relevant times, if proven, may satisfy the requirements of Section 9545(b)(1)(ii), in which case, the claims defaulted by operation of that incompetence may be entertained. Appellant was denied an…