Court receives incarcerated man’s appeal along with supporting briefs from currently and formerly incarcerated people, former prosecutors and judges, and criminal defense lawyers

CONTACT:
Connease Warren, Abolitionist Law Center, 713-304-8990, connease@alcenter.org

PHILADELPHIA—Abolitionist Law Center filed its main brief in the case of Commonwealth v. Jerome Coffey to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court yesterday following the Court’s September announcement that it would use the appeal to address whether its March 2026 decision in Commonwealth v. Derek Lee applies retroactively. In Lee, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court struck down the sentence of mandatory life without parole (death by incarceration) for felony murder as a violation of article I, section 13, of the state Constitution, which prohibits “cruel punishments.” Mr. Coffey is represented by the Abolitionist Law Center. 

Former prosecutors and judges, members of the defense bar, currently and formerly incarcerated individuals, as well as allies in the movement to end death by incarceration (life without parole) sentences, also filed amicus curiae, or “friend of the court”, briefs yesterday in support of Mr. Coffey’s appeal to make the Lee ruling retroactive. As with the Lee case, where an unprecedented 17 amicus briefs were filed in support of Mr. Lee, these briefs demonstrate the reach and power of a social movement committed to providing pathways home from death by incarceration sentences. The following briefs were filed:

• Former prosecutors and judges in Pennsylvania, including Jaqueline Romero and William McSwain, who were U.S. Attorneys for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania under the Biden and Trump I administrations respectively, and former federal judge Mitchell Goldberg.
• Former ALC client Marie “Mechie” Scott, who served more than 50 years in in prison for a felony murder conviction before she was commuted, submitted a brief authored by the Dechert law firm advocating that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court makes clear that the Lee ruling applies to cases of felony murder from pre-1974 when the offense was graded as first degree murder.
• Pennsylvania Innocence Project and Phillips Black submitted an amicus brief highlighting the factors contributing to wrongful convictions and the need for retroactive relief. 
• Incarcerated individuals serving mandatory life without parole sentences for felony murder filed a brief: John Payne, Lori Lassiter, and Cecil Holmes, all of whom will be entitled to resentencing if the Court finds Lee is retroactive.
• Public Defender Association of Pennsylvania submitted a brief detailing their ongoing preparations to assist the defense bar in the task of resentencing approximately 1,100 people.
• Defender Association and the Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers submitted a brief arguing that Lee should be held to apply retroactively. 
• Juvenile Law Center and Youth Sentencing and Reentry Project filed a brief discussing the successful resentencing of former juvenile lifers and how this provides a template for felony murder resentencings.
• Drexel Community Lawyering Clinic submitted an amicus brief detailing who is serving sentences of life without parole for felony murder: their age, race, counties they are from, time served, arguing that resentencing is a practical and moral necessity given the age and lack of public safety risk of this population. 
• Shawn Nijjar filed a pro se amicus brief arguing in support of retroactivity. 

Coffey said of the briefing, “I’m so glad my case is being used to address retroactivity from the Derek Lee ruling. The majority of those serving this illegal sentence are older and I hope this decision gives them some hope to find a pathway home. I’m grateful to the Abolitionist Law Center attorneys- I couldn’t have asked for a better team.”

There are currently more than 1,100 people serving unconstitutional mandatory life without parole sentences for felony murder in Pennsylvania. In its March 2026 ruling, the PA Supreme Court declined to address the issue of retroactivity, staying its ruling for 120 days so the legislature could respond. The legislature failed to come to an agreement on legislation, although separate bills passed by the Senate and the House both included retroactive provisions that would have eliminated life without parole for felony murder. The court’s decision to address retroactivity in Mr. Coffey’s case will determine if those serving this unconstitutional sentence will be entitled to a resentencing proceeding.

“The Pennsylvania Supreme Court now has the opportunity and the responsibility to ensure that the constitutional protection recognized in Commonwealth v. Lee reaches the more than 1,100 people whose lives depend on it,” said Rupalee Rashatwar, Managing Attorney of the Abolitionist Law Center. “Mr. Coffey has spent 33 years waiting. There is no time to waste.”

Mr. Coffey was convicted in 1994 and is currently serving life without parole (death by incarceration) for second-degree murder. For 30 years he has fought for relief from a conviction for which there was no physical evidence linking him to the crime, a recanted statement from a key prosecution witness, suppressed evidence, and ineffective assistance of Mr. Coffey’s trial counsel. Mr. Coffey was alleged to be the non-shooter in the incident. He was found not guilty of first-degree murder.  He has been incarcerated for more than 33 years.

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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 @AbolitionistLC on Facebook and Instagram.