Pennsylvania v. Johnson

In 1997, Roderick Johnson was convicted on two counts of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to death. Several years later, Johnson discovered that the Commonwealth had concealed certain documents that would have cast doubt upon the credibility of a key prosecution witness. The court of common pleas held that the Commonwealth’s failure to disclose this evidence violated Johnson’s right to due process of law, in accordance with Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963), and awarded Johnson a new trial. Finding no reversible error in that decision, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court affirmed. View "Pennsylvania v. Johnson" on Justia Law