Commonwealth v. Holmes

It is a fundamental principle of our criminal law that a person accused of crime is presumed to be innocent and that the burden is on the Commonwealth to prove each and every element of the crime charged and that the accused is guilty of the crime charged beyond a reasonable doubt. Commonwealth v. Hinchcliffe, 479 Pa. 551, 553, 388 A.2d 1068, 1069, cert. denied, 439 U.S. 989, 99 S.Ct. 588, 58 L.Ed.2d 663 (1978); Commonwealth v. Todd, 477 Pa. 529, 533, 384 A.2d 1215, 1217 (1978); Commonwealth v. Geiger, 475 Pa. 249, 254, 380 A.2d 338, 340 (1977); Commonwealth v. Bishop, 472 Pa. 485, 489, 372…