Commonwealth v. Alvin

KELLY, Judge:

In the instant case we are called upon to determine whether the law of justification regarding the use of deadly force in self-defense was changed by the enactment óf 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 505(b)(2)(i) as part of the Consolidated Pennsylvania Statutes Act of 1972 and, if so, whether the trial judge committed an error of law by instructing the jury that, in order to justify the use of deadly force, the evidence must establish that the actor was free from fault in provoking or continuing the difficulty which resulted in the injury.

The appellant contends that, by borrowing language from §…