Commonwealth v. Cole

On July 28, 1977, a jury convicted appellant of murder of the first degree and kidnapping and imposed capital punishment for murder and a consecutive term of imprisonment of 10 to 20 years for kidnapping. The trial court denied post-verdict motions. Following decision of Commonwealth v. Moody, 476 Pa. 223, 382 A.2d 442 (1977), cert. denied, 438 U.S. 914, 98 S.Ct. 3143, 57 L.Ed.2d 1160 (1978), declaring *109unconstitutional the state death penalty provision, the trial court vacated the death sentence and imposed a sentence of life imprisonment. Appellant contends that (1) systematic exclusion of…