Approaching 120 Days: Senators Jay Costa and Amanda M. Cappelletti Address the Legislature’s Responsibility to Respond to Commonwealth v. Lee

Harrisburg - July 23, 2026 - The Pennsylvania Supreme Court deemed mandatory life sentences for people convicted of second-degree felony murder unconstitutional on March 26, 2026. The landmark Court ruling was then stayed, giving the Pennsylvania General Assembly 120 days to amend the unconstitutional law and provide an alternative remedy for the more than 1,100 incarcerated individuals who have been harshly or unfairly convicted.

The legislature is now out of time, with the Court's mandated deadline approaching on Friday, July 24.

Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa (D-43, Allegheny) and Senator Amanda M. Cappelletti, Democratic Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee (D-17, Delaware/Montgomery), issued the following statement:

"The Court's ruling in Commonwealth v. Lee gave our state legislature a historic opportunity to redress a longstanding injustice. Pennsylvania is one of only four states that mandate life-without-parole sentences for people who are convicted of second-degree felony murder. Such sentences do not consider whether the actor intended to take a life when they committed the felony. Nor do they consider their degree of involvement in the crime. At its core, the way Pennsylvania was sentencing those convicted of felony murder was often disproportionate with the crimes at hand, and found to be "cruel punishment" under the Pennsylvania Constitution.

"The legislature has known about the July 24 deadline to heed the Court's ruling. Rather than take action to deliver a just, fair solution to incarcerated Pennsylvanians serving these sentences, Pennsylvania Senate Republicans have spent the past 120 days spewing misinformation about what this ruling means for public safety, while refusing to work collaboratively.

"Though Senate Republicans are content stoking the dishonest lie that the more than 1,100 people serving these sentences will be released from prison come July 24, the truth is that if the legislature fails to act, resentencings are the actual expected outcome. Individual resentencings will take years to process. And it is likely that many incarcerated people impacted by this ruling may still receive a life sentence. Resentencings require the full use of our court system, which will severely strain our public defenders and prosecutors, and produce inconsistent outcomes across the state.

"It is also true that Senate Republicans claimed to take action by passing Senate Bill 1400 back in June. However, not only did Senate Republicans proceed without feedback, they shirked participating in ongoing conversations among stakeholders who were working to craft a comprehensive solution. Instead of working in a bipartisan way, they circulated their proposed legislation less than 24 hours before a Senate Judiciary Committee vote, without any stakeholder or Democratic feedback, to force a perfunctory measure through the chamber. In our divided legislature, when bipartisan consensus is essential, these performative measures are unacceptable.

"A true solution to this matter would provide an adequate sentence for second-degree felony murder that is appropriate under Pennsylvania's current sentencing guidelines and proportionate to the role the actor played in the crime; parole eligibility for people currently serving a life-without-parole sentence for felony murder after they've served a minimum number of years and; a procedure that ensures a judge will issue a culpability determination if they impose a life-without-parole sentence.

"We, along with our Senate Democratic colleagues, look forward to passing collaborative, comprehensive, and meaningful legislation that actually delivers justice."

Read more from the Abolitionist Law Center about Commonwealth v. Lee.

Read the letter to the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing from Senators Costa and Cappelletti.

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