Commonwealth v. Rivera

OPINION

Justice BAER.

In 2008, a jury convicted Appellant Cle-tus C. Rivera of the first degree murder of Police Officer Scott Wertz. Appellant was thereafter sentenced to death, and this Court affirmed his judgment of sentence. Commonwealth v. Rivera, 603 Pa. 340, 983 A.2d 1211 (2009). Appellant subsequently filed a timely petition for collateral relief pursuant to the Post Conviction Relief Act (“PCRA”), 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 9541-9546. After affording Appellant notice of its intent to dismiss his PCRA petition without conducting an evidentiary hearing, the Court of Common Pleas of Berks County…