Pennsylvania’s governor, once the state’s top lawman, is supporting an Allegheny County man’s appeal of his life sentence for second-degree murder without parole. Gov. Josh Shapiro took the unusual step last week of filing a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of inmate Derek Lee because he believes that the mandatory sentence
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court in mid-February granted a petition asking it to consider whether the mandatory sentence for murder in the second degree life without parole is unconstitutional under both state and federal law. The decision, made public in a Supreme Court order issued Feb. 16, received immediate support from at least two […]
Pennsylvania is an outlier in sentencing people convicted of second-degree murder to life in prison without the possibility of parole, advocates for ending the practice say.The post Pa. Supreme Court
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s high court will consider if some automatic life sentences for those convicted of murder violate constitutional protections for defendants, the justices said Friday. The appeal being pursued by Derek Lee, convicted of a 2014 killing, argues the state’s life-without-parole law violates prohibitions in the Pennsylvania and U.S.
Pennsylvania s high court will consider whether some automatic life sentences for those convicted of murder violate constitutional protections for defendants, the justices said Friday.