Commonwealth v. Rivera

OPINION

Justice BAER.

This is a direct appeal from the judgment of sentence of death imposed by the Berks County Common Pleas Court following Appellant’s conviction of first degree murder of a police officer and related offenses. 1 At trial, Appellant testified that he intended to shoot and kill the victim, but that he did so in self-defense, as he was unaware that the victim was a police officer, and instead believed his life was in danger. Thus, we must determine, inter alia, whether the Commonwealth disproved Appellant’s claim of self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt. For the reasons set…