Commonwealth v. Carpenter

OPINION OF THE COURT

PAPADAKOS, Justice. *

This is the appeal of James H. Carpenter (Appellant) from the Order of the Court of Common Pleas of York County denying Appellant relief under the Post Conviction Relief Act (PCRA). 1 Jurisdiction over this direct appeal exists pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S. § 9546(d) which provides that a final court order under the PCRA “in which the death penalty has been imposed shall be directly appealable only to the Supreme Court pursuant to its rules.”

Appellant was convicted by a jury on January 20, 1984, of the stabbing death of Jimmy Lee Taylor. The jury found…