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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCP-21-CR-0000893-1981 COMMONWEALTH : IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF : CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA : V. : : JOHN VINCENT WATERS : CP-21-CR-0893-1981 IN RE: POST-CONVICTION RELIEF PETITION OPINION AND ORDER OF COURT Masland, J., December 13, 2010:-- Petitioner, John Vincent Waters, seeks resentencing pursuant to the Post Conviction Relief Act (PCRA). Specifically, he asks the court to vacate his sentence of life without the possibility of parole and provide him a meaningful opportunity for review by parole authorities. After consideration of the filings, briefs and the argument of the parties on December 9, 2010, the court dismisses the petition as untimely. In 1981, when he was 16 years old, Petitioner engaged in involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and then murdered an 11-year-old boy, Steven Turner. Commonwealth v. Waters, 483 A.2d 855, 857 (Pa. Super. 1984), certiorari denied, 471 U.S. 1137 (1985). Petitioner was tried as an adult, convicted by a jury, and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Now, decades later, he seeks post-conviction relief on the basis of a recent decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, Graham v. Florida, 560 U.S. ___, 130 S. Ct. 2011 (2010). CP-21-CR-0893-1981 There are limited exceptions to the general rule that a PCRA petition must be filed within one year of the date a judgment becomes final. 42 Pa. C.S. §9545(b)(1). Relevant here, an otherwise untimely petition may be considered if the right asserted therein “is a constitutional right that was recognized by the Supreme Court of the United States or the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania after the time period provided in this section and has been held by that court to apply retroactively.” 42 Pa. C.S. ·§9545(b)(1)(iii). Petitioner contends Graham establishes the constitutional right of juvenile offenders not to be sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole and that this right should apply retroactively. The court disagrees. In Graham, the Supreme Court concluded, “[t]he Constitution prohibits the imposition of a life without parole sentence on a juvenile offender who did not commit homicide.” Graham v. Florida, 130 S.Ct. 2011, 2034 (2010) (emphasis added). Petitioner committed murder. As such, Graham recognizes no constitutional right relevant to the Petitioner. Although petitioner argues forcefully that the Supreme Court intentionally left open the possibility of extending its holding to all juvenile offenders, that possibility will not bear fruit in this court. Petitioner has advised that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court will address this issue in Commonwealth v. Batts, 981 A.2d 1283 (Pa. 2009), in which argument was held on December 1, 2010. Although the Supreme Court’s decision could determine that the rationale of Graham should be extended to all juveniles, this court declines to engage in speculation and put this matter on hold indefinitely. -2- CP-21-CR-0893-1981 Thus, petitioner has failed to satisfy the relevant exception to the one year 1 filing limitation and, therefore, his petition is dismissed as untimely. ORDER OF COURT AND NOW, this day of December, 2010, upon consideration of the petition for post-conviction collateral relief of John Vincent Waters, the Commonwealth's motion to dismiss, and argument thereunder, the petition is DISMISSED as untimely. By the Court, Albert H. Masland, J. Joshua Yohe, Esquire For the Commonwealth Taylor P. Andrews, Esquire For Petitioner :saa Due to our resolution of this issue the court need not address the question of 1 retroactivity. Nevertheless, we note that retroactive application applies when a new constitutional rule of criminal procedure prohibits a category of punishment for a class of defendant s because of their status. Perry v. Lynaugh, 492 U.S. 302, 329-30 (1989), abrogated on other grounds by Atkins v. Virginia, 536 U.S. 304 (2002). As such, Graham would appear to be retroactive but only for juveniles who committed non-homicide crimes, unlike petitioner. -3- COMMONWEALTH : IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF : CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA : V. : : JOHN VINCENT WATERS : CP-21-CR-0893-1981 IN RE: POST-CONVICTION RELIEF PETITION ORDER OF COURT AND NOW, this day of December, 2010, upon consideration of the petition for post-conviction collateral relief of John Vincent Waters, the Commonwealth's motion to dismiss, and argument thereunder, the petition is DISMISSED as untimely. By the Court, Albert H. Masland, J. Joshua Yohe, Esquire For the Commonwealth Taylor P. Andrews, Esquire For Petitioner :saa