The Failure and the Fallout
As we previously reported, the PA Supreme Court ruled that mandatory life-without-parole sentences for second-degree (felony) murder violated the state constitution. The PA Supreme Court stayed its decision for 120 days, giving the General Assembly until July 24 to enact a replacement sentencing framework for second-degree murder. Well, that deadline came and passed without the House and Senate reconciling their two competing bills.
Like students asking a teacher for an extension on a group project, the Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala asked the Pennsylvania Supreme Court for a 120-day stay of its ruling. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court's answer was a resounding “No.” It reminds me of an old saying that I want to be buried by the people in my group projects, so they can let me down one last time. That clearly also applies to our legislature.
For those not following the action, the House and Senate passed two different bills to replace the old mandatory sentence and never reconciled them before the July 24 deadline the court had set. Lawmakers don't return to Harrisburg until September. I must say, I've never had a job where I could just leave for a long vacation without finishing my work but that seems to be the norm with our government.
With the stay expired and no extension granted, the door is open for roughly 1,100 people currently serving mandatory life on second-degree murder convictions to eventually challenge their sentences, though for now, only Derek Lee, the original appellant, is automatically eligible for resentencing. Everyone else will need to file their own appeal and work it through the courts, a process the Public Defender Association of Pennsylvania estimates could take years and cost the state $34 to $36 million.
The legislature could still pass a fix when it returns this fall, but for now: no framework, no clock, and a lot of open questions for a Commonwealth that likes to let the big decisions simmer over the August recess.
