On March 26, 2026, the PA Supreme Court issued a ruling that mandatory life-without-parole sentences for 2nd degree were unconstitutional. They agreed with our side’s argument that condemning someone to spend their entire life in prison, without them being convicted of any premeditation–or even knowledge that harm could be caused–constituted “cruel punishment” and therefore went against Pennsylvania’s constitution. Their ruling means that over 1000 people in PA’s prisons no longer have a constitutional death-by-incarceration/life-without-parole sentence and need to be given a new one.

The ruling also gave the Pennsylvania legislature 120 days (until July 24) to fix this issue, and the ruling is ‘stayed’ or on pause during this period. For years our groups have been pushing simple legislation that would allow as many people as possible the chance at parole as quickly as possible. In 2024, Chair of the PA House of Representatives’ Judiciary Committee, Tim Briggs, agreed to sponsor HB 443, a bill that would allow everyone currently serving a 2nd degree sentence to see the parole board after 25 years, and that would have no mandatory minimum for people convicted of 2nd degree homicide in the future.

Governor Shapiro submitted an amicus brief in the Lee case in support of our argument that mandatory DBI for 2nd degree is unconstitutional. In this brief he suggested the court allow the legislature, in conjunction with his office, the opportunity to pass legislation and offer a remedy. 

With only 16 days left, the legislature has failed to pass fair and meaningful legislation. We need to send a clear message to the Governor that we want him to support HB 443 and work with the general assembly to pass this bill before the deadline. 

We'll gather on zoom at 2pm on July 8 to answer questions and offer support to those who are making calls but also encourage folks to call Shapiro's office anytime Wednesday if you can't attend the zoom. Sign up to receive the zoom link, phone number and call script.