Commonwealth v. Wallace

OPINION

NIGRO, Justice.

This is a direct appeal from the Order of the Court of Common Pleas of Washington County denying post-conviction relief in a capital case. 1 For the reasons presented herein, we affirm.

On August 17, 1979, Henry Brown and Appellant William Wallace, Jr. robbed Carl’s Cleaners in Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania. In the course of the robbery, Appellant shot and killed the store owner, Carl Luisi, Sr., and a fifteen-year-old employee, Tina Spalla. Appellant was arrested on August 20, 1979, and Brown was apprehended shortly thereafter.

Trial commenced on December 3, 1980, but a…