The petitioners—Cecil Holmes, Lori Lassiter, John Payne, and Marsha Scaggs—are requesting that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court use its King’s Bench authority to immediately grant relief from their individual sentences of life with no possibility of parole (LWOP) for second-degree murder. The King’s Bench petitions urge the Court to retroactively apply its unanimous ruling of March 26, 2026, in Commonwealth of PA v. Derek Lee, that mandatory LWOP sentences for felony murder are unconstitutionally cruel.

In striking down Derek Lee’s mandatory life without parole sentence, the Court recognized that “[felony] murder covers a wide variety of conduct and varying culpability for a killing,” further noting that felony murder “is somewhat of an anomaly” since there is no requirement that the defendant had any intent to take a life in order to be convicted of the offense. The Court declined to say whether or not its ruling applied retroactively for other people convicted of second-degree murder, but stayed Mr. Lee’s resentencing proceedings for 120 days to give the legislature time to pass a bill in response to its ruling. The stay expired on July 24 without legislative action. 

Cecil Holmes is a 70-year-old man who was convicted of second-degree murder in 1980. He was accused of being an unarmed lookout, standing across the street from an attempted robbery that resulted in the death of a Philadelphia taxi driver. An army reservist with no prior convictions, Mr. Holmes was a 23-year-old husband and expectant father when he was arrested in 1979. The presentence report recommended probation, but because of mandatory sentencing, Mr. Holmes was sentenced to life without parole. Over decades, he has earned the trust of prison staff, even working in the prison’s staff kitchen. Now, after more than 45 years of incarceration, he suffers from severe dementia. 

Lori Ann Lassiter is a 62-year-old woman who was convicted of second-degree murder in 1989. She has always maintained her innocence of the crime, but even under the prosecution’s theory, Ms. Lassiter at most initiated a robbery for her co-defendant and did not commit any violent act. She has now served over 38 years in prison, where she has maintained an exemplary conduct record and served her community by, among other things, working in the hospice unit and knitting baby clothes for the Lion’s Club. Ms. Lassiter has also dedicated her life to becoming clean and sober and furthering her education, including obtaining an associate’s degree in business and a certification to work in optical labs. 

John Marshall Payne III is a 70-year-old man who was convicted of second-degree murder in 1986. He has always maintained his innocence of the crime, and the prosecution’s only evidence against him came from two jailhouse informants who received significant breaks on their sentences in their cases in exchange for their testimony, and one woman who admitted she frequently used LSD at the time she implicated Mr. Payne and could not really remember whether he made any inculpatory statements to her. The Pennsylvania Superior Court has described these witnesses’ credibility as “suspect.” Mr. Payne is a U.S. Navy Veteran who was honorably discharged from the service in 1977. He has spent his four decades of incarceration committed to self-improvement, and has volunteered his time for the Vietnam Veterans Association, the Huntingdon Literary Council, and Veterans Behind the Wall. He is committed to his faith and is active in his church community. 

Marsha Scaggs is a 62-year-old woman who was convicted of second-degree murder in 1988 and has been incarcerated since her arrest in 1987. She was 23 years old at the time of the offense and had no adult criminal record at the time of her arrest, and her co-defendant was the one who shot the victim in her case. Ms. Scaggs has served nearly 40 years in prison, where she has maintained an exemplary record of rehabilitation and service to the community. She now suffers from severe liver damage that has resulted in seven hospitalizations in 2026. 

The petitioners are represented pro bono by Abolitionist Law Center, Pennsylvania Innocence Project, and Phillips Black. Mr. Payne is also represented by Troutman Pepper Locke.