Commonwealth v. Small

OPINION

CASTILLE, Justice.

This is a direct appeal from a sentence of death imposed by the Court of Common Pleas of York County.1 Following a jury trial, which commenced on May 7, 1996, appellant was convicted of first degree murder2 and attempted rape3 in connection with the 1981 death of Cheryl Smith. The jury determined that the two aggravating circumstances it found outweighed the two mitigating circumstances and returned a *432sentence of death.4 On June 19, 1996, the trial court imposed the jury’s sentence of death for the first degree murder conviction and additionally sentenced appellant to…