Overview
- In March the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled mandatory life without parole for second‑degree (felony) murder unconstitutional and gave lawmakers 120 days to pass a new sentencing scheme.
- Lawmakers left Harrisburg on July 14 without a compromise, making it likely the July 24 deadline will be missed and no new statewide sentencing range will be in place.
- If the deadline passes without legislation, judges will resume case‑by‑case sentencing for second‑degree murder and incarcerated people are expected to file mass resentencing petitions.
- About 1,100 people currently serving mandatory life without parole are affected, roughly half in Philadelphia, and defender offices warn that individualized resentencings will strain resources and cost tens of thousands of dollars per case.
- Republicans in the Senate backed a 35‑to‑life bill with parole eligibility after 35 years while House Democrats pushed lower caps and earlier parole access, and the unresolved retroactivity question and partisan split set up more litigation and operational strain across courts and prosecutors.