Pennsylvania v. Martin (majority)
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This case was a direct appeal of a death sentence imposed after a jury convicted Appellant Jeffrey Martin of one count of first-degree murder and other charges arising from the strangulation death of a twelve-year-old girl. The jury concluded, with respect to the circumstances of the murder, that the aggravating factors outweighed the mitigating circumstances, and imposed the death sentence. The primary issues raised by Appellant on appeal centered on whether the evidence was sufficient to support the jury’s guilty verdicts for the additional charges of rape, sexual assault, and statutory sexual assault. Appellant argued that because there was insufficient evidence to prove that the killings had been committed during the perpetration of these felonies, the jury considered non-existing aggravating circumstances when it imposed the sentence of death. Appellant also challenged the ruling of the suppression court that allowed certain evidence to be presented against him at trial. Finding no reversible error, the Supreme Court affirmed.
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