The Pennsylvania Supreme Court affirmed the denial of PCRA relief in this capital case. On appeal to the Supreme Court, the defendant raised numerous claims of error, including a layered ineffectiveness claim in connection with trial counsel’s failure to file a notice of appeal. But the rules of court demand that the Supreme Court review all capital cases. And the defendant’s court-appointed lawyers participated in that statutorily-mandated appeal. Thus, the Supreme Court found no basis to disrupt the judgments of sentence based on the defendant’s challenges to that process.
