454 Pa. 365 | Pa. | 1973
Opinion by
The appellant was charged and indicted for the murder of his paramour, Dora Grant and her eight-year old child, Nathan Grant. After trial by jury, in which appellant contended that he was intoxicated and/or insane at the time of the killings, a verdict of murder in the first degree on both indictments was returned. The court en banc dismissed motions for a new trial and in arrest of judgment and a life sentence on each indictment was imposed to run concurrently. Appellant how appeals to this Court.
During the course of the trial appellant took the stand and on cross-examination was questioned as follows by the prosecutor: “Q. Besides that gun, have you ever made it a practice to carry any other kind of weapon? Me. Perillo: Objection, Your Honor. It has not been established he carried this weapon. The Couet: Overruled. The Witness: No, sir. Q. Did you ever carry a straight razor? A. What was the question? Q. Did you ever carry a straight razor? A. Not as I remember. Q. Do you recall one day when a razor dropped out of your pocket when you were visiting Jacqueline, and she asked you what you had it for? Me. Perillo : Objection. The Court : Overruled. The Witness : I do not recall such a thing.”
The preceding colloquy, where appellant had not put his character into issue, is a manifest disregard of the provisions of the Act of March 15, 1911, P. L. 20, §1, 19 P.S. 711 which prohibits asking any person charged with a crime who is called as a witness in his own behalf any question tending to show that he has committed any other offense. See Commonwealth v. Barron, 438 Pa. 259, 264 A. 2d 710 (1970) and Commonwealth v. Davis, 396 Pa. 158, 150 A. 2d 863 (1959).
We are unimpressed by the Commonwealth’s claim that the illegality of the conduct can only be established
The Commonwealth further proposes that even if erroneous, such reference was harmless in view of the overwhelming evidence of guilt, and appellant’s failure to contest the commission of the homicides,
The judgment of sentence is reversed and a new trial is granted.
Appellant’s position at trial was that he had no recollection of committing the acts but if in fact ho did he should be relieved of criminal responsibility because of insanity or in the alternative that the specific intent to hill was negated by intoxication.