Felony murder appeal before Pa. Supreme Court on Tuesday offers a slim hope for ‘lifers’
Pennsylvania Capital-Star, 10/07/24: “Denise Alexander couldn’t remember the last time she saw her younger brother John.
Convicted in 2007 of second degree murder for a crime in which he contends he was also a victim, John Alexander is serving a life sentence in state prison without the possibility of parole.
His absence for the past 17 years has strained the siblings’ relationship, tested their parents’ marriage to the point of breaking, and left John’s two children, now adults, without a fatherly role model and provider, Denise Alexander said.
“I tried my best, my mom and dad tried their best. But ever since this happened, everything’s just been different. Our family just hasn’t been the same,” she told the Capital-Star.
On Tuesday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case that offers a slim hope of freedom for 40-year-old John Alexander and more than 1,100 other people serving life sentences for killings they didn’t commit or intend.
Lawyers for former Allegheny County resident Derek Lee have been working to persuade the court to find that life in prison without parole for second degree murder is an impermissible cruel punishment under the Pennsylvania Constitution. Lee, 36, is serving life for a murder committed by his accomplice in a 2014 robbery.”