Cases | Commonwealth v. Fisher, 681 A.2d 130 (Pa. 1996) | 2018
The defendant was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. On appeal, the defendant argued that the trial court erred in allowing the Commonwealth to present victim impact evidence during the penalty phase. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania agreed, finding that the capital sentencing scheme in effect at the time of the defendant’s trial precluded the admission of victim impact testimony. In particular, the trial court was not allowed to introduce any evidence unrelated to the aggravating circumstances or mitigating circumstances presented during the sentencing procedure. However, the trial court admitted the testimony of the victim’s mother, who offered testimony as to the impact of the victim’s murder on the victim’s family. The trial court then instructed the jurors that the victim impact evidence could be considered in determining whether the death sentence should be imposed. However, the impact of the victim’s death on society and her family was not a legitimate factor upon which a sentence of death could be based. Since the trial court mischaracterized the victim impact evidence as evidence counteracting the defendant’s mitigating evidence, the court affirmed the first-degree murder conviction, vacated the judgment of sentence of death, and remanded for a new sentencing hearing.