Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “The Pennsylvania State Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that blanket mandatory life sentences for convictions of second-degree murder are unconstitutional.

The landmark case was argued in front of the state’s highest court more than a year ago. Second-degree murder, also called felony murder, applies when someone is killed during the commission of a separate felony — for example, if someone is killed during a robbery.

Reform advocates have long pointed to the fact that even if someone who participated in the crime did not actually kill anyone, that person can still be charged and convicted of second-degree murder.

The case was brought by Derek Lee, who was convicted in Allegheny County in 2014 for his participation in a robbery that ended in a fatal shooting. His case will be sent back to Common Pleas Court to be resentenced.

Chief Justice Debra Todd wrote in her opinion that the blanket mandatory sentence, which leaves no room for questions of actual culpability, ‘is inconsistent with the protections bestowed upon our citizens under the ‘cruel punishments’ clause of our Commonwealth’s organic charter.’…

Quinn Cozzens, an Abolitionist Law Center attorney who worked on Lee’s case, said that could come in the form of updating the state’s parole code to set a mandatory minimum sentence for those convicted of felony murder. Among the other options would be resentencing hearings for Pennsylvania inmates serving life sentences for second-degree murder.”

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