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: Monday, June 8, 2026, at 12:30 PM

WHERE: PA State Capitol Complex, Main Rotunda, 501 N. 3rd St., Harrisburg, PA

WHO:
Celeste Trusty, Founder and Principal Strategist, North Star Advocacy
Lorraine Haw, Community Organizer
Rep. Tim Briggs (Pa. 149th District)
Steph Drain, Community Organizer, Working Families Party
Rep. Chris Rabb (Pa. 200th District)
John Pace, Youth Sentencing and Reentry Project
Sara Jacobson, Executive Director, Public Defender Association of Pennsylvania
Keisha Hudson, Chief Defender, Philadelphia Defenders Association
Saleem Holbrook, Executive Director, Abolitionist Law Center

Family members and supporters of people sentenced to life without parole (LWOP) for felony murder are holding a press conference at the State Capitol in Harrisburg to demand lawmakers resolve the illegal sentencing scheme affecting more than 1,000 people in Pennsylvania prisons. On March 26, 2026, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled in Commonwealth v. Lee that mandatory LWOP for felony murder is unconstitutional. The Supreme Court justices have tasked the state legislature with passing legislation to rectify this unconstitutional sentencing scheme.

The PA Supreme Court unanimously ruled that mandatory LWOP for felony murder violates the state Constitution’s ban on “cruel punishments” because it fails to consider individual culpability.This landmark ruling marks the first time the state’s highest court has established broader protections under the state Constitution than the federal Constitution. The ruling is 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 will ensure the constitutional rights of those convicted of felony murder in the past and future. 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, the bill has not been introduced for a vote in the House Judiciary Committee, likely due to pressure from Democratic House leadership since Rep. Briggs is the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee.

Incarcerated people affected by the ruling, as well as their loved ones, are growing increasingly agitated with the legislature’s failure to act. The 120-day stay will end on July 24, and more than 1,000 Pennsylvanians’ lives hang in the balance while the people elected to represent them neglect their responsibility to protect the constitutional rights of everyone in the commonwealth. Advocates are calling on House Majority Leader Rep. Matt Bradford to address the unconstitutional sentencing scheme by supporting HB 443.

Lee’s case, along with HB 443, emerges from a grassroots movement led by incarcerated people and their families who refer to life imprisonment without parole as Death by Incarceration (DBI). 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.

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, Instagram, and Bluesky.

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 us on social media: facebook.com/AmistadLaw, @AmistadLaw on Twitter and Instagram.