J-S54022-15
NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
PENNSYLVANIA
Appellee
v.
RICHARD P. MAZEFFA
Appellant No. 3404 EDA 2014
Appeal from the PCRA Order November 10, 2014
In the Court of Common Pleas of Bucks County
Criminal Division at No(s): CP-09-CR-0001213-1986
BEFORE: BOWES, J., PANELLA, J. and FITZGERALD, J.
JUDGMENT ORDER BY PANELLA, J. FILED JUNE 28, 2016
On February 28, 1986, Appellant shot and killed his grandfather and
grandmother. At the time of the murders, Appellant was just four months
shy of his eighteenth birthday.
The trial court sentenced Appellant to life without parole. This Court
affirmed the judgment of sentence on December 21, 1987.
On August 3, 2012, Appellant filed his first PCRA petition. Appellant
claimed relief under Miller v. Alabama, 132 S.Ct. 2455 (2012). In Miller,
the Court held that “mandatory life-without-parole sentences for juveniles
violate the Eighth Amendment.” Id., at 2464. Appellant filed his petition
____________________________________________
Former Justice specially assigned to the Superior Court.
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within 60 days of the decision, and argued that Miller should be applied
retroactively and that he should be sentenced anew.
Appellant’s petition was denied by the PCRA court as untimely. We
affirmed on September 29, 2015, relying on the Pennsylvania Supreme
Court’s decision in Commonwealth v. Cunningham, 81 A.3d 1 (Pa. 2013).
There, the Court held that Miller did not apply retroactively. Because Miller
did not apply retroactively under Cunningham, we ruled that Appellant
could not rely on Miller or § 9545(b)(iii) to establish jurisdiction over his
untimely PCRA petition.
Appellant filed a petition for allowance of appeal in our Supreme Court.
While the petition for allowance of appeal was pending, the United States
Supreme Court decided Montgomery v. Louisiana, 136 S.Ct. 718 (2016),
finding that Miller recognized “a new substantive rule of constitutional law”
and should apply retroactively. Id., at 729. Given that holding, Appellant
filed in our Supreme Court a petition for remand of his case to the Court of
Common Pleas of Bucks County. Shortly after the filing of the petition for
remand, our Supreme Court entered an order citing Montgomery and
vacating our memorandum decision and remanding for further proceedings
consistent with Montgomery. See Commonwealth v. Mazeffa, 966 MAL
2015, Order, 2/25/16.
It is clear that in light of Montgomery Appellant is entitled to relief.
Accordingly, we reverse the PCRA court’s order dismissing Appellant’s
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petition, vacate the judgment of sentence and remand for re-sentencing
pursuant to Miller and Montgomery.
Order reversed. Judgment of sentence vacated. Case remanded for re-
sentencing. Jurisdiction relinquished.
Judgment Entered.
Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary
Date: 6/28/2016
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