Commonwealth v. Boczkowski

OPINION OF THE COURT

Justice CASTILLE.

On May 5, 1999, a jury sitting before the Honorable David S. Cercone of the Court of Common Pleas of Alegheny County convicted appellant of first-degree murder for the strangulation death of his wife, Maryann Boczkowski.1 At the penalty hearing, the jury found one aggravating circumstance—that appellant had been convicted of another murder committed before or at the time of the offense at issue2—and one mitigating circumstance—evidence of mitigation concerning appellant’s character.3 The jury found that the aggravating circumstance outweighed the…