The Philadelphia Inquirer, 10/08/24: “Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court justices on Tuesday debated whether the state’s mandatory sentence of life without parole for second-degree murder is constitutional — an issue that has long been eyed for reform by a mix of advocates and some legislators.

Under state law, people who participate in a deadly felony — such as a robbery — can be charged with the crime, also known as felony murder, even if they didn’t commit the killing or intend for anyone to die. A conviction leads to an automatic life sentence, and more than 1,100 people are serving that penalty in Pennsylvania, which is one of only two states nationwide to mandate incarceration for life for felony murder convictions.

Efforts to challenge the statute and the penalty have been persistent but unsuccessful over the years. The issue landed before the state’s high court this week because an attorney for one of those defendants — Derek Lee, who took part in a fatal robbery in Pittsburgh in 2014, but whose coconspirator committed the killing — filed an appeal saying that the penalty is unduly cruel.

If the justices agreed with that assessment, they gave no clear indication of it Tuesday. And they directed pointed questions toward Lee’s attorney, Bret Grote, asking what remedy he expected them to provide; suggesting the matter may be more appropriate for legislators rather than the courts to consider; and raising potential procedural issues that might arise if they agreed to strike down Lee’s sentence.”

Read the full article here.