Commonwealth v. Butler

Opinion by

Mr. Chief Justice Bell,

Hercules Butler was found guilty of first-degree murder by a jury in 1957. Motions for a new trial and in arrest of judgment were filed, but thereafter were withdrawn by Butler’s Court-appointed attorneys, and a sentence of life imprisonment was imposed. Since that time, Butler has filed a series of petitions, both for habeas corpus and under the Post Conviction Hearing Act, all of which have been denied. The Opinion of this Court in Commonwealth v. Butler, 435 Pa. 46, 254 A. 2d 645, recounts the history of these prior proceedings.

For a determination of this…