HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court delivered a landmark ruling Thursday, striking down the state’s mandatory life-without-parole sentences for second-degree murder convictions. The justices determined these automatic sentences violate Pennsylvania’s constitutional protections against cruel punishment because they fail to consider each defendant’s individual circumstances and level of involvement.
The decision centers on Derek Lee’s case, who was convicted in a 2014 Pittsburgh homicide, but will impact approximately 1,000 other prisoners currently serving similar sentences for second-degree murder.
The court has delayed implementing its ruling for four months, allowing Pennsylvania’s legislature time to “consider appropriate remedial measures.” The justices noted in their decision that they were focusing on Lee’s specific case and not addressing whether the ruling should apply to past convictions.
“We will await any legislative action and we will prepare to act according to the Court’s opinion and any forthcoming legislation,” stated Rebecca Spangler, first assistant and chief of staff to the Allegheny County district attorney, in an email response.
Under current Pennsylvania law, individuals face second-degree murder charges when they participate in certain felonies that result in death, with life imprisonment without parole being the sole sentencing option.
Chief Justice Debra Todd explained in the majority opinion: “The mandatory penalty scheme of life without parole for all offenders convicted of second degree murder fails to assess individual culpability regarding the intent to kill, and mandates the same punishment regardless of that culpability.” She emphasized the law doesn’t differentiate “between the lookout, and the killer who pulls the trigger.”
This ruling follows years of nationwide efforts to eliminate mandatory life-without-parole sentences. Todd noted that advocacy organizations provided varying data on how many states impose mandatory life sentences without exceptions for felony murder cases, with estimates ranging from two to eleven states.
In a concurrent opinion, Justice Kevin Dougherty highlighted that second-degree murder defendants, unlike first-degree murder convicts, have “never been found by a judge or jury to have harbored the specific intent to kill” and might have had “any involvement whatsoever with the actual killing. He or she does not even have to expect or foresee that a life may be taken.”
Quinn Cozzens, a staff attorney with the Abolitionist Law Center representing Lee, said they had hoped the court would declare all life-without-parole sentences unconstitutional for second-degree murder cases. Instead, trial judges must now evaluate each defendant’s specific circumstances to determine appropriate sentences, which could still include life without parole.
The state’s public defenders’ association anticipates the ruling will spark new legal challenges and require additional investigation work as they develop “strategic litigation” to seek retroactive application of the decision.
In Lee’s case, jurors found him guilty of second-degree murder while acquitting him of first-degree murder in the shooting death of 44-year-old Leonard Butler. Butler died during a gun struggle with Lee’s co-defendant, Paul Durham.
Prosecutors maintained that addressing second-degree murder sentencing policies should remain with state lawmakers and executive officials. Todd noted that while the district attorney’s office “acknowledges that there may be persuasive arguments why a non-slayer should not be held to the same degree of culpability as the slayer, it stresses that these are policy decisions for the General Assembly.”
Cozzens called on legislators to “address this constitutional violation, given that the court granted them the opportunity to do so.”
State Representative Tim Briggs, a suburban Philadelphia Democrat who leads the House Judiciary Committee, announced plans to work with Senate Republicans on responsive legislation.
Briggs expressed support for retroactive application, wanting to give people serving life sentences “for being the getaway driver” the chance to “have their facts looked at again.”
“I think inaction leaves a lot of this up to the courts to decide. I don’t feel comfortable doing that,” Briggs explained. “We have a policymaking role here.”
Justice Sallie Mundy noted that Lee “willingly participated in an armed home invasion and robbery, and purposefully engaged in assaultive behavior in the form of tasing and pistol-whipping the victim.” She stated that Lee and Durham “arguably kidnapped the victims by forcing them into the basement” and that the county judge will determine whether Lee’s life-without-parole sentence remains appropriate.
Todd’s opinion referenced advocacy group data claiming that 73% of those convicted of felony murder in Pennsylvania were 25 or younger when the killing occurred, and just under 70% are Black individuals.
