Commonwealth v. Jackson

OPINION OF THE COURT

ROBERTS, Justice.

Appellant Oscar Jackson was convicted by a jury of murder of the first degree, aggravated robbery and conspiracy, all charges stemming from the killing of Edward Perry. He has appealed only the murder conviction.1 We reverse the *606murder conviction because the Commonwealth improperly impeached appellant’s chief witness by prior arrests which had not resulted in convictions. See, e.g., Commonwealth v. Taylor, 475 Pa. 564, 381 A.2d 418 (1977), and Commonwealth v. Ross, 434 Pa. 167, 170, 252 A.2d 661, 662 (1969).

The principal evidence against appellant was the…