Pennsylvania v. Mitchell (majority)
Annotate this CaseAppellant Wayne Mitchell's petition for post-conviction relief was denied, and he appealed. Appellant admitted to and was convicted of the rape of his wife Robin in 1997. He was also charged with making terroristic threats, unlawful restraint, and simple assault. While appellant waited for his preliminary hearing, the wife filed for a Protection From Abuse order. Appellant waived the charges to court in exchange for a nominal bond, with a condition that he seek immediate in-patient treatment for alcohol abuse. However, for reasons disputed at trial, Appellant was never admitted to the hospital for treatment as required by the agreement, and instead confronted his wife where he later stabbed her to death, leaving her naked body in a lot close to her home. Appellant ultimately confessed to the killing, and later pled guilty to the earlier charges against him, in addition to his wife's murder. Upon review of appellant's petition for post-conviction relief, the Supreme Court found no reversible error in the PCRA court's denial of appellant's petition for relief.
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