Com. v. Bronshtein

• Decision Date: 16 April 1999
• Parties: COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee, v. Antuan BRONSHTEIN, Appellant. Appeal of Maria Pogrebivsky and Karolina Benchluch, as next friends to Antuan Bronshtein.
• Court: Pennsylvania Supreme Court

729 A.2d 1102

556 Pa. 545

COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee, v. Antuan BRONSHTEIN, Appellant.

Appeal of Maria Pogrebivsky and Karolina Benchluch, as next friends to Antuan Bronshtein.

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

Submitted March 16, 1999.

Decided April 16, 1999.

Reargument Denied April 23, 1999.

James Moreno, Philadelphia, Center for Legal Education, for M. Pogrebivsky, et el.

Mary Ann Killinger, Norristown, Office of the District Attorney, for Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Robert A. Graci, Harrisburg, Office of the Attorney General, for Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Before FLAHERTY, C.J., and ZAPPALA, CAPPY, CASTILLE, NIGRO, NEWMAN, and SAYLOR, JJ.

OPINION

NEWMAN, Justice.

Maria Pogrebivsky and Karolina Benchluch, as next friends to Antuan Bronshtein (Bronshtein) appeal from an Order of the Court of Common Pleas of Montgomery County dismissing Bronshtein's Post-Conviction Relief Act Petition.

Facts and Procedural History

On August 10, 1994, Bronshtein was sentenced to death for the murder of Alexander Gutman, a King of Prussia jeweler, in January 1991. The Governor originally signed a warrant for the execution of Bronshtein on July 16, 1997, but this Court stayed the execution so that Bronshtein could file a Petition for Writ of Certiorari with the United States Supreme Court. Bronshtein did file such a petition, and the United States Supreme Court denied certiorari on October 20, 1997. The Governor signed a second warrant of execution on November 14, 1997, and on December 3, 1997, the Center for Legal Education Advocacy and Defense Assistance (CLEADA) filed an Emergency Motion for Stay of Execution and a PCRA Petition¹ on behalf of Bronshtein. The Court of Common Pleas of Montgomery County (PCRA Court) issued a stay of execution pending disposition of the PCRA Petition. The court also issued an Order appointing Robert B. Dunham, Esquire, of CLEADA, as counsel for Bronshtein.

On January 26, 1998, Bronshtein wrote a letter to the PCRA Court expressing his desire to abandon his post-conviction appeal. The PCRA Court held a hearing on May 4, 1998, during which Bronshtein agreed to undergo psychiatric examination. The Court appointed Robert Sadoff, M.D. to perform the examination, which took place on June 22, 1998. Dr. Sadoff submitted a report to the court on June 23, 1998, in which he stated as follows:

I asked Mr. Braunshtein [sic] if he knew that he was facing the death penalty. He states that he is competent, that he clearly understands that he is facing the death penalty, and he wants the death penalty. I asked him why that was imposed upon him, and he said, because of the murder on January 11, 1991 of Alexander Guttman [sic], a jeweler. He states, very carefully, "I accept the verdict." He said he was found guilty, and would not go any further than that. I asked him if he would agree with the verdict, and he said he would not answer that question. Later, he said he accepts the sentence of death, but not necessarily the verdict. He said he knows he has been found guilty of killing Mr. Guttman [sic], and he has no choice other than to accept the finding of the jury....

I asked why he wanted the death penalty, and he said he wants it because it was given to him and he accepts the sentence. When I asked him to elaborate further, he said he doesn't have to do that, and quotes the United States Supreme Court in a recent case, stating that the individual need only know that he is facing death and why he is facing the death penalty. He said he knows those things and he wants his sentence to be carried out. He does not wish to go into any other aspect of his life and would not, at this time, answer my questions about other areas of his life. At some point, he states that this was a game and that he felt I was trying to "trick" him....

In addition to my limited and abbreviated examination of Antuan Bronshtein, I also reviewed a number of records that were sent to me by the Court, by the Office of the Prosecutor and more so from LEADA....

Based on my limited and abbreviated one hour examination of Antuan Bronshtein plus review of the records noted, I can state, within reasonable medical certainty, that Mr. Bronshtein appears to have an intellectual ability to understand that he is being put to death for a particular reason, i.e., the conviction for murder of Alexander Guttman [sic]. I am not certain about his emotional appreciation of the conditions in which he finds himself and his ability to work effectively and rationally with counsel with respect to his current situation....

Thus, my opinion at this time is deferred until a further examination, where I may probe more deeply into Mr. Bronshtein's emotional condition and his reasons for seeking the death penalty as quickly as possible. He does know that he has received the death penalty and knows that death is final. He also knows that he has been given the death penalty on the basis of the conviction for murder of Alexander Guttman [sic]. He is vague, however, about accepting or agreeing with various verdicts of guilt and admitting that he was responsible for various behaviors, including one of the murders.

Report of Robert M. Sadofff, M.D., June 23, 1998.

At a hearing on July 15, 1998, the Court informed Bronshtein that further psychiatric evaluation was necessary before it would accept his waiver of appeal. Bronshtein again informed the court that he wished to waive his post-conviction appellate rights. Shortly after the hearing, Bronshtein attempted suicide while at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility.

On July 30, 1999, the PCRA Court vacated the appointment of Mr. Dunham and CLEADA, and appointed Joseph J. Kalkbrenner, Jr., Esquire to represent Bronshtein. The Order directed Mr. Kalkbrenner to file an amended PCRA petition within 120 days, or in the alternative to take appropriate action if he determined that Bronshtein's stated desire to withdraw his appeal was a rational and competent decision.

Pursuant to the instructions of Bronshtein, Mr. Kalkbrenner informed the Court that Bronshtein wished to withdraw his PCRA Petition. Following a hearing on January 26, 1999, the PCRA Court entered an Order dismissing the PCRA Petition and vacating the stay of execution, finding that Bronshtein had knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily waived his right to appeal. On February 25, 1999, the "next friends" filed an appeal of the PCRA Court's Order.² On March 26, 1999, Bronshtein, through counsel, filed a Motion to Quash the Appeal.³

Discussion

The focus of the instant appeal is Bronshtein's competency to waive his right to seek relief pursuant to the PCRA and his competency to be executed. The proscription against executing an insane person has a long history in the common law. As this Court stated in In re Heidnik, 554 Pa. 177, 720 A.2d 1016, 1017-1018 (1998):

The United States Supreme Court, in Ford v. Wainwright, 477 U.S. 399, 106 S.Ct. 2595, 91 L.Ed.2d 335 (1986), determined that this proscription is incorporated in the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishments. The several opinions in support of the judgment in that case suggested that the minimum elements for determining `sanity' in this context relate to the person's awareness of the punishment and the reasons for it, or as we put it in Commonwealth v. Jermyn, 539 Pa. 371, 652 A.2d 821, 824 (Pa.1995), whether the person "comprehends the reason for the death penalty and its implications."

At the January 26, 1999 hearing, Bronshtein indicated that he did not need any more time to review any aspect of his case with counsel, and that he wished to have the death penalty imposed. He testified that during his almost eight-year incarceration he did not suffer from delusions or hallucinations. He stated that he was not suffering from any illness or infirmity, and that he understood the proceedings that were taking place in the courtroom. The following colloquy took place between counsel and Bronshtein:

Q: Whose decision is it to request the Court, to request Judge Ott—

A: Mine and mine only.

Q: —to dismiss the PCRA petition?

A: Whose decision is that?

Q: Yes.

A: It is my decision.

(N.T. January 26, 1999 at 32-33).

Further in the proceedings, counsel continued with a similar line of questioning:

Q: Mr. Bronshtein, with regard to the voluntariness of what you are doing here today, can we agree that there are no external, no outside influences—

A: Absolutely not.

Q: —that have impacted your decision?

A: No.

THE COURT: Absolutely not, there are no outside influences?

A: There are no outside influences. Yes.

(N.T. January 26, 1999 at 36-37.)

At the hearing, counsel reviewed the grounds upon which a defendant can seek relief pursuant to the PCRA. Bronshtein stated that he was familiar with the PCRA and that he had a copy in his jail cell. He indicated that he had no questions for counsel, the Court or the Assistant District Attorney regarding the PCRA. The following exchange then occurred between counsel and Bronshtein:

Q: Since you wrote to Judge Ott back in January and made it more or less public, made the Court aware of and made your counsel aware of your intentions to proceed to have the death penalty imposed, sir, have you wavered in your conviction and your decision to bypass the PCRA act and to proceed to have the governor sign another warrant?

A: I have not.

Q: Have you hesitated in any manner since January of 1998?

A: I have not.

Q: And have you remained steadfast in your commitment now for about the last year?

A: Over a year, yes.

(N.T. January 26, 1999 at 41.)

Bronshtein indicated that attorneys from CLEADA had reviewed the records from his trial and informed him that there might be issues that had merit under the PCRA. Nevertheless, he stated that he wished to forgo his right to seek relief. When asked by counsel if he understood that the Court would refer his case back to the Governor for the signing of a death warrant, if it...