Allegheny County second-degree murder cases in ‘land of the unknown’

More than 120 Allegheny County inmates facing uncertainty

An estimated 120-plus inmates serving life sentences from Allegheny County are among groups potentially affected by what one prosecutor calls a new "land of the unknown" in Pennsylvania judicial matters involving second-degree murder.

The uncertainty referred to by John Adams, Berks County district attorney and spokesperson for the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association, follows the state Supreme Court's declaration earlier this year that sentencing guidelines for those serving mandatory life sentences without parole for second-degree murder are unconstitutional.

The court put a stay on the ruling months ago, and it expired Friday.

The lack of clarity raises the possibility that sentenced individuals might file petitions under the Post Conviction Relief Act seeking reviews of their sentences and incarceration. And, since lawmakers were unable to agree on a replacement sentencing law, political accusations are being hurled.

Questions abound. Will many currently incarcerated offenders file petitions? Does the turn of events even suggest that they could be set free? Will state lawmakers come together to create a replacement law?

"We are kind of in a land of the unknown as we wait for the Legislature to act, or for the Supreme Court to give the Legislature more time," Adams said. The possibility of more time for lawmakers was raised on Friday when Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala filed a request to extend the stay.

As of mid-afternoon Tuesday, the court had not announced any action on the request.

A statement from Zappala's office said its best estimate "is that there are approximately 120-plus individuals serving second-degree life sentences from Allegheny County."

Berks County, where Adams is district attorney, has 24 cases in which a defendant is serving a life sentence for second-degree murder. In Dauphin County, the number is 35, according to District Attorney Fran Chardo. A lawmaker in Franklin County said he believes "about three" cases might be affected there, and one in Carbon County guesses there are "at least three or four" there.

The Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts could not immediately provide a statewide figure.

The Allegheny figure is uncertain, the district attorney's office statement said, because Department of Corrections records contain some mischaracterizations of homicide convictions and include juvenile cases that are not relevant. The 120-plus figure is a "best estimate," the spokesperson said.

The Supreme Court decision, the statement said, has not been described as retroactive. "We will address any petitions for relief as they are filed," the statement said.

Chardo, the Dauphin district attorney, sounded a similar tone.

"We have to look at each case individually and figure out the right thing to do, and then there will be a judicial decision," he said.

House lawmakers returned to Harrisburg for an unusual one-day late July voting session last week, but were unable to come up with a replacement package that satisfied both parties.

Last week, two Democratic senators accused Republicans of "stoking the dishonest lie that the more than 1,100 people serving these sentences" would be released on the day the Supreme Court stay expired.

"Individual resentencings will take years to process," Sens. Jay Costa of Allegheny County and Amanda Cappelletti of Montgomery County said. "And it is likely that many incarcerated people impacted by this ruling may still receive a life sentence."

On Monday, Republican state Rep. Rob Kauffman of Franklin County said the chance of passing bipartisan replacement legislation was deep-sixed by far-left Democrats in the House who added major incarceration-system changes to the bill.

"The advocates for criminals are winning the day in the House Democratic caucus," Kauffman said.