Commonwealth v. Howard

OPINION

SAYLOR, Justice.

In this capital case, Appellant, Melvin Howard, appeals from an order denying post-conviction relief in the form of a new penalty phase hearing.

On September 27, 1987, during an altercation involving several men, Howard killed Clarence Woodlock by stabbing him with a knife sixteen times, first in the back, then in the chest using both hands. Howard left the scene of the killing, stating that he was going home, and he subsequently fled to his mother’s residence in Georgia, where he was ultimately apprehended. Trial was conducted in September, 1989, and the jury returned…