Commonwealth v. Miller

OPINION

Chief Justice CAPPY.

In this case, we are asked to consider the impact of the recent United States Supreme Court case of Atkins v. Virginia, 536 U.S. 304, 122 S.Ct. 2242, 153 L.Ed.2d 335 (2002), on our collateral capital jurisprudence. Appellee, Joseph Daniel Miller, filed a petition under the Post Conviction Relief Act (hereinafter “PCRA”), 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 9541-9546, seeking relief under Atkins. Following a review of the trial court record and the record of the first PCRA proceedings, the PCRA court vacated Appellee’s sentences of death and imposed consecutive sentences of life in…