Com. v. Thornton, B.
Com. v. Thornton, B. No. 2021 EDA 2016
| Pa. Super. Ct. | Jun 12, 2017Background
- 1990 fatal shooting of Gregory Jackson by Thornton in concert with another person.
- Thornton was convicted after a bench trial of third-degree murder, criminal conspiracy, and reckless endangerment.
- Sentence: 10–20 years for murder, 5–10 years for conspiracy, 1–2 years for RE, total 16–32 years.
- This Court affirmed the judgment of sentence on direct appeal in 1993; Supreme Court denial followed in 1994.
- Thornton filed two prior PCRA petitions with no relief; he filed a third pro se petition on August 19, 2015.
- The PCRA court dismissed the petition as untimely on May 20, 2016, and Thornton appeals.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the PCRA court erred by denying void- or illegal-sentence relief for lack of jurisdiction | Thornton argues illegality of sentence justifies merits review despite time-bar | State asserts time-bar is jurisdictional and illegality claims do not override it | Untimely petition; no statutory exception shown. |
| Whether Thornton is entitled to resentencing due to an unreasonable, excessive, and unauthorized sentence | Thornton seeks remand for resentencing | No exception to time-bar; sentence within statutory authority | Denied; timeliness defeats merits. |
| Whether Thornton was denied equal protection by failure to merge offenses (RE and conspiracy) with the greater offense | Conspiracy and RE should merge into third-degree murder | Claims fail for lack of timely petition and proper merger rule | No merit reviewed due to untimely petition. |
| Whether Thornton is actually innocent of the sentence and conspiracy based on rulings that conspiracy to third-degree murder is not cognizable | Legal theories render sentence illegal; claims retroactivity not timely | Time-bar bars review regardless of substantive theories | Untimely petition; not reaching merits. |
Key Cases Cited
- Commonwealth v. Fahy, 737 A.2d 214 (Pa. 1999) (legality of sentence review does not remove PCRA time-bar)
- Commonwealth v. Jackson, 30 A.3d 516 (Pa. Super. 2011) (review of legal-sentence claims requires timely petition)
- Commonwealth v. Miller, 102 A.3d 988 (Pa. Super. 2014) (untimely PCRA petitions without exceptions lack jurisdiction)