Justice SAYLOR. Appellant, Jerome Gibson, was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death in 1995, and this Court affirmed the conviction and sentence on direct appeal. See Commonwealth v. Gibson, 553 Pa. 648, 720 A.2d 473 (1998). In proceedings under the Post Conviction Relief Act, 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 9541-9546 (the “PCRA”), a post-conviction court denied guilt-phase relief but awarded a new penalty hearing, and cross-appeals to this Court ensued. In light of the United States Supreme Court’s intervening decision in Atkins v. Virginia, 536 U.S. 304, 122 S.Ct. 2242, 153 L.Ed.2d 335 (2002) (<HOLDING>), the parties sought and obtained a remand to
holding that under the eighth amendment to the united states constitution the government may not execute a mentally retarded person holding that execution of the mentally retarded is prohibited under the eighth amendment to the united states constitution holding that the execution of mentally retarded criminals violates the eighth amendment holding that the eighth amendment to the united states constitution prohibits the execution of mentally retarded individuals holding execution of mentally retarded individuals fails to achieve legitimate penalogical objectives for punishment as required by the eighth amendment to the united states constitution and article i  16 of the tennessee constitution