Commonwealth v. Pettus

OPINION

LARSEN, Justice.

On March 1,1977 Appellant, Derrick Pettus, was convicted in a jury trial of murder of the third degree, conspiracy, and possession of an instrument of crime. After denying post-trial motions, the trial court sentenced appellant to four to ten years on the murder conviction and one to two years on the remaining convictions. Appellant did not pursue a direct appeal. Three years thereafter, appellant obtained new counsel and filed a petition under the Post-Conviction Hearing Act1 alleging, inter alia, trial counsel’s ineffectiveness in failing to perfect an appeal on his…