HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The Pennsylvania Supreme Court announced on Friday that it will review whether certain automatic life sentences for individuals convicted of murder may infringe upon defendants’ constitutional rights.
Derek Lee is pursuing an appeal contending that Pennsylvania’s law imposing life imprisonment without the possibility of parole goes against the constitutional safeguards prohibiting cruel and unusual punishment.
The Supreme Court’s order accepting the appeal specifies a focus on the constitutionality of the mandatory life sentence in Lee’s case. Lee argues that his involvement did not entail killing or intending to kill, thus diminishing his level of culpability.
Under Pennsylvania law, individuals can be held accountable for murder if they partake in a felony resulting in death, with life without parole currently standing as the sole sentence option for second-degree murder convictions.
Advocates highlight that approximately 5,200 individuals in Pennsylvania are presently serving what they describe as “death by incarceration” sentences, with the state having the highest per capita rate in this regard. This policy disproportionately impacts Black men, who make up around 70% of those serving life-without-parole terms in Pennsylvania.
Quinn Cozzens, an attorney representing Lee from the Abolitionist Law Center, expressed belief that a ruling in favor of Lee by the high court could have implications for all individuals convicted of second-degree murder.
Kelly Callihan, the executive director of the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association, mentioned that the case will undergo review by the association’s appeals committee to determine the next course of action.
According to an account of the October 2014 incident provided by the trial judge in Allegheny County, Lee and another individual, both armed and partially concealing their faces, compelled the adult occupants of a residence to kneel while demanding money from victim Leonard Butler. One of the assailants used a stun gun.
The judge’s report stated that during the altercation, one of the perpetrators struck 44-year-old Butler in the face with a pistol, stole his watch, and then proceeded upstairs. When Butler resisted the individual remaining downstairs, a shot was fired, resulting in Butler’s death.
Lee was implicated in the crime due to a rental vehicle registered in his name being parked outside the residence around the time of the incident, and the identification of Lee by the other adult resident through a photo lineup, who clarified that Lee was not the one who fired the fatal shot.
Lee and his codefendant Paul Durham were both convicted of second-degree murder, robbery, and conspiracy.
In a ruling issued in June, the Pennsylvania Superior Court rejected Lee’s assertion that life-without-parole violated his constitutional rights, citing precedents from previous similar appeals. However, Superior Court Judge Alice Beck Dubow, in a concurring opinion, urged the higher court to reconsider the matter “in light of changes in related case law from other states and research and policy concerns regarding the criminal justice system.”