Commonwealth v. Devers

OPINION OF THE COURT

PAPADAKOS, Justice.

In this review, we are afforded an opportunity to clarify the meaning of our landmark decision, Commonwealth v. Riggins, 474 Pa. 115, 377 A.2d 140 (1977), and in so doing to clear away the tangled growth of legal misunderstandings which have sprung up around this case. That case firmly established the requirement that a sentencing court must disclose on the record the reasons for the imposition of a particular sentence. We are compelled now to put to rest misconceptions and borderline distinctions which have appeared in our legal literature on the…