Commonwealth v. Green
Commonwealth v. Green
Opinion of the Court
Appellant was charged with stabbing his mother to death. In May, 1974, appellant was adjudged incompetent to stand
Appellant had often quarreled with his mother and had done so not long before the killing. On March 31, 1974, Willie Williams, a friend .of the victim, entered the kitchen of the victim’s home and saw appellant, kneeling, stabbing his mother with a knife. Williams ran to alert James Ford, appellant’s brother, who lived nearby. After Williams left, Grady Patterson entered and also saw appellant kneeling and stabbing the victim. The back door was open and the kitchen shades were up. Patterson immediately left to call the police. Ford soon arrived, saw appellant stabbing the victim and grabbed his arm. Ford spoke to appellant as he restrained him but appellant did not answer. Moments later, the police arrived. They were unable to pry appellant’s fingers from the knife until one of them struck him in the hand with a night stick. The officers lifted appellant from the floor and carried him into the living room. There, appellant called to Ford, “I love you.” Without resistance,
Appellant raised the defense of insanity. He called Dr. Norman Jablon, a psychiatrist at a state institution. Jablon had examined appellant in December, 1973 and in May, 1974, soon after the killing. Although he could not express a medical opinion on whether appellant was legally insane at the time of the killing, he testified that his examinations of appellant revealed chronic schizophrenia, catatonia, confusion, memory impairment and loss of contact with reality. The Commonwealth did not call any expert witnesses, but Ford, appellant’s brother, testified that several days before the killing, appellant was able to carry on a conversation, teach Ford a card game, drive a car and obey traffic signals, play pool, make a telephone call and operate a stereo set.
We find the evidence sufficient to sustain the verdict of guilty of murder of the first degree. The jury could have considered that appellant attacked his mother when no one was around to help her, closed the door and the curtains to prevent detection, stabbed her deliberately in vital parts of the body and severed her vocal cords to prevent her from crying out, recognized his brother and spoke to him. From this conduct and testimony of his rational behavior just days earlier, the jurors could have found beyond a reasonable doubt that, despite evidence of appellant’s mental disorders, he was legally sane at the time of the killing. See Commonwealth v. Vogel, 468 Pa. 438, 364 A.2d 274 (1976); Commonwealth v. Demmitt, 456 Pa. 475, 321 A.2d 627 (1974).
Before trial, appellant moved to waive his right to trial by jury. The Commonwealth opposed this request. The trial court denied appellant’s request, relying upon the Act of August 8, 1977, P.L. 185, § 1, 17 P.S. § 931 (Supp. 1978-79), repealed, Act of April 28, 1978, P.L. 202, effective June 27, 1978, which provides that in criminal cases, the Commonwealth shall have the same right to trial by jury as does the accused. Appellant argues that this provision violates the Pennsylvania Constitution, art. V, § 10(c), by infringing upon the Supreme Court’s exclusive jurisdiction to promulgate rules of criminal procedure. Appellant did not raise his constitutional claim at trial or in post-verdict motions. Thus, we do not consider this issue. See Matter of Adoption of Christopher P., 480 Pa. 79, 389 A.2d 94 (1978).
The other issues appellant presents are not preserved for review. Appellant did not raise these issues in post-verdict motions. Although he presented them in his post-verdict brief, the post-verdict court did not consider them. See Commonwealth v. Carrillo, 483 Pa. 215, 395 A.2d 570 (1978).
Judgment of sentence affirmed.
Appellant contends that the evidence showing that he closed the back door and the curtains is only circumstantial and that someone else may have performed those acts. The jury was entitled to draw from the evidence any reasonable inferences favorable to the Com
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.