Commonwealth v. Thornton

OPINION OF THE COURT

ROBERTS, Justice.

This is a direct appeal from judgment of sentence of life imprisonment imposed by the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County upon conviction of murder of the first degree. Appellant, Elgin L. Thornton, raises one claim of error: that the trial court, over defense objection, improperly admitted an oral statement made by the victim on the evening before the killing. The trial court ruled the statement admissible on the ground that it was within the “state of mind” exception to the rule against hearsay. We conclude that, because the victim’s state of mind…