Webster v. Commonwealth
Annotate this CaseAfter a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of second-degree manslaughter and of being a first-degree persistent felony offender. Appellant was sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment enhanced to twenty years’ imprisonment due to Appellant’s status as a persistent felony offender. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) Appellant’s argument that the trial court erred in phrasing the jury instructions in a manner that unfairly suggested to the jury that it had to acquit on the higher degree of homicide before considering any lesser offense was not eligible for appellate review; and (2) Appellant’s argument that the trial court erred in reading the jury instructions at the beginning of the penalty phase instead of at the conclusion of the proof was not preserved for appellate review.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.