Commonwealth ex rel. Whiting v. Myers

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania

Commonwealth ex rel. Whiting v. Myers

210 A.2d 489, 418 Pa. 179, 1965 Pa. LEXIS 576

CourtSupreme Court of Pennsylvania

DecidedMay 25, 1965

DocketAppeal, No. 161

StatusPublished

This text of 210 A.2d 489 (Commonwealth ex rel. Whiting v. Myers) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Commonwealth ex rel. Whiting v. Myers, 210 A.2d 489, 418 Pa. 179, 1965 Pa. LEXIS 576 (Pa. 1965).

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Opinion

Opinion by

Mr. Justice Eagen,

On October 14, 1948, James Whiting plead guilty generally to an indictment charging the crime of murder. After, a hearing before the court, he was found guilty of murder in the second degree and sentenced to an indeterminate term of imprisonment, the maximum being fixed at. twelve years and the minimum at six years. After his release from confinement under the sentence above imposed, he was again indicted for murder, allegedly committed on November 12,1962. To this indictment, he entered a general plea of guilty on June 7, 1963. After a hearing before the court, he was adjudged guilty of murder in the second degree and sentenced to life imprisonment under the provisions of §701 of the Act of June 24, 1939,.P. L. 872, 18 P.S. §4701. No appeal from the judgment of sentence was entered.

[181]*181Subsequently, an action in babeas corpus was instituted, wbicb the lower court dismissed without hearing. The present appeal followed.

Appellant contends that his liberty has been deprived by virtue of an “ex post facto” law as proscribed in Article I, §9 of the Constitution of the United States in that §701 of The Penal Code, supra, was amended by the Act of December 1, 1959, P. L. 1621, §1, and that, therefore, his convictions were under separate statutes and the penalty cannot validly have a cumulative effect. The fact is that the portion of §701 of the Act of 1939 dealing with the penalties for second degree murder was in no way changed by the 1959 amendment thereto. Thus, both sentences for second degree murder were imposed upon petitioner by virtue of the Act of 1939, supra.

Affirmed.

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Opinion by

Mr. Justice Eagen,

On October 14, 1948, James Whiting plead guilty generally to an indictment charging the crime of murder. After, a hearing before the court, he was found guilty of murder in the second degree and sentenced to an indeterminate term of imprisonment, the maximum being fixed at. twelve years and the minimum at six years. After his release from confinement under the sentence above imposed, he was again indicted for murder, allegedly committed on November 12,1962. To this indictment, he entered a general plea of guilty on June 7, 1963. After a hearing before the court, he was adjudged guilty of murder in the second degree and sentenced to life imprisonment under the provisions of §701 of the Act of June 24, 1939,.P. L. 872, 18 P.S. §4701. No appeal from the judgment of sentence was entered.

[181]*181Subsequently, an action in babeas corpus was instituted, wbicb the lower court dismissed without hearing. The present appeal followed.

Appellant contends that his liberty has been deprived by virtue of an “ex post facto” law as proscribed in Article I, §9 of the Constitution of the United States in that §701 of The Penal Code, supra, was amended by the Act of December 1, 1959, P. L. 1621, §1, and that, therefore, his convictions were under separate statutes and the penalty cannot validly have a cumulative effect. The fact is that the portion of §701 of the Act of 1939 dealing with the penalties for second degree murder was in no way changed by the 1959 amendment thereto. Thus, both sentences for second degree murder were imposed upon petitioner by virtue of the Act of 1939, supra.

Affirmed.

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Bluebook (online)

210 A.2d 489, 418 Pa. 179, 1965 Pa. LEXIS 576, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-ex-rel-whiting-v-myers-pa-1965.