Commonwealth v. Smallwood

OPINION OF THE COURT

O’BRIEN, Chief Justice.

Appellant, Letitia Denise Smallwood, was convicted of two counts of murder of the first degree and one count of arson in the Court of Common Pleas of Cumberland County. She was sentenced to life imprisonment for each count of murder and ten to twenty years for arson, the sentences to run concurrently. Following trial counsel’s filing of boiler plate post-verdict motions, appellant obtained new counsel (hereinafter “appellate counsel”) who represented her for the disposition of post-verdict motions and on direct appeal. Argument on post-trial motions…