Contact:

Connease Warren, Abolitionist Law Center, 713-304-8990, connease@alcenter.org 
Julie Rodgers, Amistad Law Project, (214) 542-4117, julie@amistadlaw.org
Jen Nessel, Center for Constitutional Rights, (212) 614-6449, jnessel@ccrjustice.org

Derek Lee argues sentence is unconstitutional because he did not intend to kill anyone; case has national implications for death by incarceration

WHAT: Hearing before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Derek Lee, a case challenging the constitutionality of life in prison without parole for felony murder.  

WHO: Bret Grote of the Abolitionist Law Center will argue on behalf of Derek Lee, who is also represented by Amistad Law Project and the Center for Constitutional Rights. 

WHEN: Tuesday, October 8, 2024, 9:00 a.m. ET

WHERE: The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 310 Grant St., #600, Pittsburgh, PA, 15219

Listen to the Argument: Here

A press conference outside the courthouse will follow the argument.

BACKGROUND: 

In 2014, Derek Lee allegedly broke into a house with another man to commit robbery, and he was upstairs when the other man shot a person in the basement. Lee argues that, because he did not intend to kill anyone, his sentence is disproportionate and cruel under both the U.S. and Pennsylvania constitutions. The application of the felony murder rule, which holds liable for murder a person who participates in a felony that leads to a death, is particularly extreme in Pennsylvania because the mandatory minimum sentence is life without parole. With 5,200 people serving what are also called death-by-incarceration (DBI) sentences, the state has the country’s highest per capita rate and accounts for 10 percent of the U.S. total. Seventy percent of the more than 1,100 people in Pennsylvania serving death-by-incarceration sentences for felony murder are Black. Lee’s case emerges from a grassroots movement led by incarcerated people and their families. While Lee’s case concerns only a subset of people serving DBI sentences, it could have broad implications for the effort to reduce or end life imprisonment, a defining feature of the U.S. criminal legal system.

For more information on the case, visit the Center for Constitutional Rights case page. 

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The Abolitionist Law Center is a public interest law firm inspired by the struggle of political and politicized prisoners, and organized for the purpose of abolishing class- and race-based mass incarceration in the United States. Abolitionist Law Center litigates on behalf of people whose human rights have been violated in prison, educates the general public about the evils of mass incarceration, and works to develop a mass movement against the American punishment system by building alliances and nurturing solidarity across social divisions. Follow Abolitionist Law Center on Facebook, @AbolitionistLC on X, and @abolitionistlc on Instagram.

Amistad Law Project is a public interest law firm and organizing project working to end mass incarceration in Pennsylvania. Founded and led by Black feminists, we work to abolish death by incarceration, create alternatives to policing, and get our communities the material resources and power they need to thrive. Follow AmistadLaw on Facebook, @AmistadLaw on X, and @amistadlaw on Instagram.

The Center for Constitutional Rights works with communities under threat to fight for justice and liberation through litigation, advocacy, and strategic communications. Since 1966, the Center for Constitutional Rights has taken on oppressive systems of power, including structural racism, gender oppression, economic inequity, and governmental overreach. Follow the Center for Constitutional Rights on Facebook, @theCCR on X, and @ccrjustice on Instagram.