Commonwealth v. Copenhefer

OPINION

Justice EAKIN.

Appellant appeals from the order denying his petition under the Post Conviction Relief Act (PCRA), 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 9541-9546, as untimely. We affirm.

Appellant was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to death.1 On direct appeal, he claimed the trial court erred by failing to instruct the jury at the penalty phase that his lack of prior record constituted a mitigating circumstance. *106The prosecution and defense stipulated appellant had no prior record, and defense counsel requested a jury instruction indicating this fact must be found as a mitigating factor. The…