Commonwealth v. Batts

981 A.2d 1283, 603 Pa. 65

• Court: Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
• Decided: September 17, 2009
• Docket: 318 MAL 2009
• Status: Published

Opinion

ORDER

PER CURIAM.

AND NOW, this 17th day of September 2009, the Petition for Allowance of Appeal is GRANTED, LIMITED TO the issue[s] set forth below. Allocatur is DENIED as to all remaining issues. The issues, as stated by petitioner, are:

(1) Is sentencing a 14-year-old offender to die in prison unconstitutional in light of Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551, 125 S.Ct. 1183, 161 L.Ed.2d 1 (2005)?

(2) Does the mandatory nature of the sentence in this case violate [petitioner’s] rights under the 8th and 14th Amendments to the United States Constitution?

This Limited Grant is also RESERVED pending disposition of Graham v. Florida and Sullivan v. Florida, — U.S. —, 129 S.Ct. 2157, 173 L.Ed.2d 1155 (2009).