Pennsylvania lawmakers miss court deadline on second-degree murder sentencing reforms

The state Supreme Court’s deadline to overhaul mandatory life-without-parole sentences for second-degree murder has elapsed, and the legislature has yet to enact a unified solution.

In March, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that the state’s mandatory life-without-parole sentence for second-degree murder violates the state constitution, imposing a July 24 deadline for legislative action. The deadline passed without a unified reform, though the Senate approved SB 1400, which would impose a 35-year mandatory minimum and allow parole after 35 years for most inmates, with a reduced term for a narrow set of circumstances.

The House passed HB 1042, which retains life without parole as a maximum but tasks the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing with creating guidelines and would grant parole eligibility after 30 years for current life-sentence prisoners. No agreement between the two chambers is evident, and the General Assembly will resume in September to seek a compromise. Meanwhile, judges must decide pending cases on an individual basis, raising concerns about sentencing disparities. Only Derek Lee is currently eligible for resentencing under the court’s decision, and any broader retroactive application will require separate appeals that could take years.