Commonwealth v. DeMarco
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
809 A.2d 256 (2002)
Relevant factsFree
DeMarco (defendant), who was severely developmentally disabled, falsely corroborated another man's account of a crime after being coerced by threats, being shot with a B.B. gun, and being choked; when he later testified truthfully that his earlier statements were false and coerced, he was charged with perjury and related offenses, and the trial court refused to instruct the jury on duress after applying an outdated three-part common-law test that had been superseded by statute.
IssueFree
Whether, in determining whether the evidence supports a duress defense, the trier of fact may consider the defendant's particular situation when applying the reasonable-firmness standard.