Commonwealth v. Pinckney

The sole issue in this appeal from the denial of the defendant’s motion for new trial concerns the trial judge’s instructions to the jury on the Commonwealth’s burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. We reverse the judge’s denial of the defendant’s motion and order a new trial.

The defendant was indicted in 1971 for murder in the first degree and rape. He was tried before a jury, found guilty and was sentenced in early 1972. The convictions were affirmed on direct appeal in 1973. Commonwealth v. A Juvenile, 364 Mass. 103 (1973) (vacated as to death penalty). In 1991, the defendant…