Commonwealth v. Melvin
Decision Date | 20 September 2017 |
Docket Number | No. 1438 WDA 2016,1438 WDA 2016 |
Parties | COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee v. Jeremy MELVIN, Appellant |
Court | Pennsylvania Superior Court |
David B. Chontos, Turtle Creek, for appellant.
Robert H. Hartley, Jr., Assistant District Attorney, Mercer, for Commonwealth, appellee.
Jeremy Melvin (Appellant) appeals from the August 19, 2016 judgment of sentence imposed following a resentencing hearing pursuant to Commonwealth v. Batts , 620 Pa. 115, 66 A.3d 286 (2013) (" Batts I "). We affirm.
Commonwealth v. Melvin , 928 A.2d 1126 (Pa. Super. 2007) (unpublished memorandum at 1–2). On April 24, 2007, a panel of this Court affirmed the denial of Appellant's PCRA petition. Id. Appellant did not seek review by our Supreme Court.
On July 8, 2010, Appellant filed a second PCRA petition, which was denied by the trial court without a hearing. No appeal followed. Appellant's third PCRA petition was filed on May 23, 2012. Shortly thereafter, on June 25, 2012, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its opinion in Miller v. Alabama , wherein the Court held that "the Eighth Amendment forbids a sentencing scheme that mandates life in prison without possibility of parole for juvenile offenders." 567 U.S. 460, 479, 132 S.Ct. 2455, 183 L.Ed.2d 407 (2012).
PCRA Court Opinion, 11/1/2016, at 3–4 (unnecessary capitalization omitted).
Both Appellant and the PCRA court have complied with the mandates of Pa.R.A.P. 1925. Appellant raises the following issues for this Court's review, which we have renumbered for ease of disposition.
In his first two issues on appeal, Appellant presents a challenge to the legality of his sentence, arguing that the PCRA court had no valid statutory authority to impose a term-of-years sentence with a maximum term of life imprisonment at his resentencing and, because the crime at issue here was committed before June 24, 20121 , the only possible legal sentence is "on the lesser included offense of third[-]degree murder or the underlying felony of robbery." Appellant's Brief at 25–49. "When reviewing the legality of a sentence, our standard of review is de novo and our scope of review is plenary." Commonwealth v. Brown , 159 A.3d 531, 532 (Pa. Super. 2017) (citation omitted).
Batts I , 66 A.3d at 296. The Court recognized the difference in potential penalty between juvenile offenders like Batts, who was tried and convicted of first-degree murder prior to the issuance of Miller , and those who committed offenses after the Supreme Court's decision in Miller .
As to the former, it is our determination here that they are subject to a mandatory maximum sentence of life imprisonment as required by Section 1102(a), accompanied by a minimum sentence determined by the common pleas court upon resentencing. Defendants in the latter category are subject to high mandatory minimum sentences and the possibility of life without parole, upon evaluation by the sentencing court of criteria along the lines of those identified in Miller.
Thus, the Court remanded Batts' case for resentencing and instructed the trial court to consider the non-inclusive list of factors outlined in Miller before determining whether to impose upon Batts an LWOP sentence.
Following a hearing, Batts was resentenced to LWOP. He took a second appeal to this Court, which affirmed his new judgment of sentence. Our Supreme Court granted Batts' petition for allowance of appeal to address Batts' contention, inter alia , that the Court should exercise "its authority under the Pennsylvania Constitution to promulgate procedural safeguards [for juveniles convicted of first- and second-degree homicide] including (a) a presumption against juvenile [LWOP sentences]; (b) a requirement for competent expert testimony; and (c) a "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard of proof [.]" Commonwealth v. Batts , 163 A.3d 410, 427 (Pa. 2017) ( Batts II ).
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