Commonwealth v. Parrish

• Citation: 224 A.3d 682
• Decision Date: 22 January 2020
• Docket Number: No. 733 CAP,733 CAP
• Parties: COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee v. Michael John PARRISH, Appellant
• Court: United States State Supreme Court of Pennsylvania

224 A.3d 682

COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee

v.Michael John PARRISH, Appellant

No. 733 CAP

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

Submitted: June 19, 2019

Decided: January 22, 2020

Robert Charles Patterson, Public Defenders Office, Easton, PA, Elmer D. Christine, Jr., Michael Mancuso, Kimberly Ann Metzger, Richard Paul White, Monroe County District Attorney's Office, Stroudsburg, PA, for Appellee.

Ellen C. Brotman, Brotman Law, Marcus, Aaron Joshua, Defender Association of Philadelphia, Henry McGregor Sias, Philadelphia, PA, Bradley Adam Winnick, Dauphin County Public Defender's Office, Harrisburg, PA, for Appellant Amicus Curiae.

David R. Fine, K&L Gates LLP, Richard Walter Long, Pa District Attorneys Assoc, Charles Eppolito, III, Pennsylvania Bar Association, Harrisburg, PA, Robert McCarthy Palumbos Duane Morris LLP, Ronald Eisenberg, Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office, Philadelphia, PA, for Amicus Curiae.

SAYLOR, C.J., BAER, TODD, DONOHUE, DOUGHERTY, WECHT, MUNDY, JJ.

OPINION

JUSTICE TODD

In this capital case, Appellant Michael John Parrish appeals the order of the Monroe County Court of Common Pleas denying his petition for relief pursuant to the Post Conviction Relief Act ("PCRA"), 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 9541 et seq. Following our request for supplemental briefing, and after careful review, we hold that Appellant's Statement of Matters Complained of on Appeal filed pursuant to Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b) (" Rule 1925(b) statement") is so vague as to render all of his claims waived for purposes of this appeal. Additionally, we hold that appellate counsel's filing of a woefully deficient statement, one which precludes merits review of all appellate issues, constitutes ineffective assistance of counsel per se , warranting reinstatement of Appellant's right to file a Rule 1925(b) statement nunc pro tunc . Accordingly, we remand to the PCRA court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

I. Factual Background .

This appeal arises from the July 6, 2009 double murder of Appellant's girlfriend, Victoria Adams, and their 19-month-old son, Sidney Parrish.¹ Appellant, Victoria, and Sidney lived in a Monroe County apartment, and, on the day of the murders, Appellant remained at the apartment with Sidney while Victoria spent the day with family and friends. As the day proceeded into evening, Appellant became worried that Victoria would not return home in time to give Sidney certain medications he required,² a task Appellant did not know how to perform. Appellant was additionally concerned that Victoria might be pursuing a romantic relationship with someone else. That night, Appellant made a series of increasingly frequent and agitated calls to Victoria's mobile phone, which she initially answered, but later ignored. Later in the evening, Victoria and her companions went to a bar, where Victoria disclosed to them that Appellant was abusive and that she wished to end their relationship. Victoria asked three of her companions — her brother, Keith Adams, her cousin, James Ahern, and a friend, Christopher Ramos — to accompany her to the apartment, so that she could retrieve Sidney and her personal belongings, and end the relationship.

The three men agreed, and the group drove to the apartment. Victoria went inside while her brother Keith, Ahern, and Ramos waited in the car. Initially, Appellant emerged from the apartment brandishing a handgun and threatening Ahern with it, but, after Ahern lied that he, too, was armed, Appellant retreated inside. Shortly thereafter, gun flashes and gunshots emanated from the apartment. The three men attempted to enter the apartment to assist Victoria, but, as they approached the apartment, Appellant retrieved a shotgun and began firing at them, prompting them to flee and contact emergency services. Ultimately, Appellant vacated the apartment, and, approximately 30 to 40 minutes later, the men returned to the apartment, performed a cursory search, and found nothing amiss.

Nearly an hour later, Pennsylvania State Police arrived and entered the apartment, and, during a search of the premises, discovered Victoria's and Sidney's bodies in a back bedroom. Each had been shot multiple times. Appellant became the object of a multi-state manhunt, and he left Pennsylvania. He was later arrested in New Hampshire, where he was subjected to a search that yielded a .357 Glock semi-automatic handgun, which forensic tests revealed to have been consistent with the firearm that fired the 13 spent cartridge casings recovered from the crime scene. While being questioned by police, Appellant waived his Miranda³ rights and confessed to killing Victoria and Sidney, indicating that the events of the evening provoked him into such a rage that he fired a warning shot at the ceiling to get Victoria's attention. However, he recalled that he was so angry that he then "lost it" and shot Victoria while she was holding Sidney, inadvertently striking him, which caused Appellant to become even more furious such that he began to "spray" bullets at Victoria and Sidney, firing alternating series of shots at both until he ran out of ammunition. Parrish , 77 A.3d at 560.

Appellant was charged with two counts of first-degree murder,⁴ and, initially, was represented by two attorneys with the Monroe County Public Defender's Office ("PDO") – William Sayer, Esq., and James Gregor, Esq. On August 18, 2009, the Commonwealth filed notice of its intent to seek the death penalty, alleging, with respect to each count of first-degree murder, the aggravating circumstances that (1) Appellant committed another offense subject to the death penalty or life imprisonment, and (2) Appellant committed another murder.⁵ On April 21, 2010, Appellant, via Attorneys Sayer and Gregor, attempted to tender a guilty plea to both counts, but, at an ensuing colloquy, Attorney Sayer elicited Appellant's statement that he blacked out during the shooting, which the trial court viewed as undermining the notion that Appellant could have formed the requisite intent to commit first-degree murder, and so the trial court rejected the guilty plea. Two days later, Attorney Sayer withdrew his appearance and was replaced by another attorney — the chief public defender of that office, Wieslaw Niemoczynski, Esq. On July 19, 2010, Appellant tendered a guilty plea to both counts, which the trial court accepted, but, on September 26, 2011, Appellant asserted his innocence, and, on that basis, was permitted to withdraw his guilty pleas.

On March 19, 2012, Appellant proceeded to jury selection, and, on March 26, 2012, the guilt phase of his trial began, at which the Commonwealth elicited evidence of the foregoing sequence of events culminating in the murders. Appellant, for his part, did not dispute he committed the killings, but presented a defense based on the theory that his anxiety over Sidney's need for his medication, Victoria's possible infidelity, and a violent provocation by Victoria's companions caused him to become so upset and enraged that he could not form the requisite intent to commit first-degree murder. Appellant was convicted of both counts of first-degree murder.

On April 2, 2012, the penalty phase of Appellant's trial began. With respect to both counts of first-degree murder, the jury found: (1) both of the aforementioned aggravating circumstances; and (2) the mitigating circumstances that Appellant had no significant history of prior convictions; that Appellant committed the murders under the influence of extreme emotional disturbance and distress; and the "catchall" mitigator with respect to Appellant's character and the circumstances of his offense.⁶ The jury further found, again with respect to both counts of first-degree murder, that the aggravating circumstances outweighed the mitigating circumstances, and it recommended imposition of the death penalty. On May 15, 2012, Appellant proceeded to a sentencing hearing, at which the trial court imposed a sentence of death. Afterwards, Appellant was imprisoned in the State Correctional Institution in Greene County ("SCI-Greene"), where he remains.

Appellant did not file a notice of appeal, but the Clerk of Courts of Monroe County notified this Court of his sentence of death due to our independent, automatic review of cases involving the imposition of such sentences.⁷ The trial court, ostensibly of the view that such notice required Appellant to actually litigate an appeal to obtain such review, directed him to file a Rule 1925(b) statement. Appellant did so, through trial counsel, raising claims asserting improper prosecutorial comment and ineffective assistance of counsel. Appellant then filed a brief with this Court presenting these claims.

On September 25, 2013, in a unanimous opinion, we found Appellant's failure to file a notice of appeal waived any claims unassociated with our automatic capital review of the sufficiency of the evidence supporting the verdict and the sentence of death. See Parrish , 77 A.3d at 560-61. After conducting that mandatory review, we found that Appellant's convictions were supported by sufficient evidence, and that the sentences of death were supported by sufficient evidence proving at least one aggravating factor. We also concluded that the death sentences were not the product of passion, prejudice, or any other arbitrary factor, and, accordingly, we affirmed them. See id. at 561-62. Appellant petitioned for a writ of certiorari from the United States Supreme Court, which was denied on May 19, 2014. See Parrish v. Pennsylvania , 572 U.S. 1123, 134 S.Ct. 2308, 189 L.Ed.2d 189 (2014) (order).

On August 29, 2014, Appellant filed a pro se petition seeking relief under the PCRA. President Judge Margherita Patti-Worthington ("PCRA court") appointed Attorney Brian Ganglione to represent Appellant to assist him in the preparation of an amended PCRA petition; however, Attorney Ganglione was granted leave to withdraw shortly thereafter because of a conflict due to his representation of James Ahern, one...