Over 1,000 Pennsylvanians are now serving unconstitutional sentences that the State Legislature has 85 days left to resolve

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: 
Connease Warren, Abolitionist Law Center, 713-304-8990, connease@alcenter.org
Jules Rodgers, Amistad Law Project, (214) 542-4117, jules@amistadlaw.org

WHEN: Wednesday, April 29, 2026, at 1:00 PM
WHERE: Philadelphia City Hall, North Apron
WHO: Celeste Trusty, FAMM; Saleem Holbrook, Abolitionist Law Center; Lorraine “Mrs Dee Dee” Haw, second degree family member; Steph Drain, Working Families Party, second degree family member; Sara Jacobson, Public Defender Association of Pennsylvania; John Pace, Youth Sentencing and Reentry Project; Kurt Danysh; Sharif Boyd, Tomorrow’s Neighbors; Kendra Brooks, Minority Leader, Philadelphia City Council

Family members and supporters of people sentenced to life without parole (LWOP) for felony murder are celebrating the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s ruling in Commonwealth v. Lee that rendered mandatory LWOP for felony murder unconstitutional. As of that decision, more than 1,000 people are serving LWOP for felony murder in Pennsylvania state prisons, and 484 of them are from Philadelphia. The Supreme Court justices have tasked the state legislature with passing legislation to rectify this illegal sentencing scheme. As of today, the legislature has 85 days left to act. 

Lee’s case emerges from a grassroots movement led by incarcerated people and their families to reduce or end life imprisonment without parole—what they call Death by Incarceration (DBI). For decades, PA’s felony murder rule has been a driver of mass incarceration, holding liable for second-degree murder any person who participates in a felony that leads to a death, even if that person didn’t cause a death. Until now, Pennsylvania has been one of only a handful of states with a particularly extreme felony murder law mandating life without parole as the only possible sentence. With more than 5,200 people serving DBI sentences, Pennsylvania has one of the highest rates of DBI sentencing in the world, with Philadelphia having sentenced more people to die in prison than any local jurisdiction on the planet. More than 50,000 people are serving DBI sentences in the United States – 83 percent of the world’s total. 

The PA Supreme Court ruling was stayed for 120 days to give the Pennsylvania legislature time to change the unconstitutional sentencing guidelines for felony murder. The legislature must also address the question of retroactivity.

Rep. Tim Briggs has introduced legislation that does both. HB 443 would offer parole eligibility after 25 years for everyone currently serving LWOP for second-degree murder, and it would include a maximum of a 25 to 50-year sentence for those convicted of felony murder in the future. However, this bill is stalled in the House Judiciary Committee, and no action has been taken to address the violation of over 1,000 incarcerated individuals’ constitutional rights. 

For more information on the case, visit the Abolitionist Law Center’s case page.  

### 

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 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, Bluesky, and Instagram.

Straight Ahead is the legislative arm of the Abolitionist Law Center, created with the goal of ending Life Without Parole (LWOP) sentences and freeing aging people in Pennsylvania prisons. Straight Ahead believes in second chances for everyone and fights alongside partner organizations, families, and formerly/currently incarcerated folks to win freedom for our people. Follow Straight Ahead on Facebook and 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 Amistad Law Project on Facebook, Bluesky, and Instagram.