\n
\n <\/a><\/p>\n
Martin and Reigelman both likened the situation to the U.S. Supreme Court\u2019s determination that mandatory life sentences without parole were unconstitutional for juveniles convicted of first-degree or second-degree murder.<\/p>\n
In 2016, the court made the decision retroactive, leading to the resentencing of 13 people in Lancaster County who were juveniles when they committed killings.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat took a lot of time and effort, and of course, that has a ripple effect on other people’s cases and the timeliness of things, and when you talk about a potential of 1,160 individuals potentially filing here, this is going to have a huge strain on this justice system,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\n
Reigelman said juvenile resentencings continue.<\/p>\n
Adams said without a sentence structure for second-degree murder, \u201cwe will lose consistency in sentencing. We will lose fairness in sentencing. We will lose truth in sentencing, and when that happens, we lose all effective deterrent for committing the crime of second-degree murder.\u201d<\/p>\n
19 Lancaster County cases impacted by 2nd-degree murder ruling<\/p>\n
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court\u2019s ruling in March that overturned the use of automatic life sentences without parole for people convicted of second-degree murder affects the following 19 cases in Lancaster County. Details of each case are provided by the Lancaster County District Attorney\u2019s Office or LNP | Lancaster County archives. All are serving life sentences without parole.<\/p>\n
Jose Nieves: Nieves pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the December 1976 stabbing death of John Herr, whose Manor Township gas station he and an accomplice tried to rob.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Larry Derr: Derr was convicted of second-degree murder, attempted rape, aggravated assault and indecent assault in the May 1981 death of Shirley Marie Albirght.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sandy Nace: Nace was convicted of two counts of second-degree murder in the July 1985 deaths of Paul Conrad and his girlfriend Sandra Wiker, who were stabbed and strangled.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dale Healy: Healy was convicted of second-degree murder in the September 1979 starvation deaths of siblings Horace and Mary Swarr after he and an accomplice ransacked the Swarrs\u2019 home and left them bound and gagged.<\/p>\n
Edwardo and Agustin Rosario: The Rosario brothers were convicted of second-degree murder for their roles in the December 1990 death of Maurice Scott, who was robbed and stabbed in his Marietta home.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Shariff Rashed: Rashed was found guilty of second-degree murder after he and an accomplice fatally shot Charles Michael Dixon and Jeffrey Thomas Mitchell in December 1993 during a drug deal in Lancaster city.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Wilfredo Portalatin: Portalatin was convicted of second-degree murder for his role in the December 1993 shooting death of Ignacio Haro in Haro\u2019s New Holland home.<\/p>\n
Ricardo Morales-Vasquez and Roberto Colon: Morales-Vasquez and Colon were each found guilty of second-degree murder, two counts of aggravated assault and criminal conspiracy for their roles in the April 2002 shooting death of Shalimar Espinosa during a robbery in Lancaster city.<\/p>\n
Derrick Burnside: Burnside was convicted of second-degree murder in the December 1998 death of James Bell after Burnside set Bell on fire in Lancaster City.<\/p>\n
Ernest Rykard and Jacquin Carr: Rykard and Carr were found guilty of second-degree murder for their roles in the November 2006 shooting death of Shawn Hutchinson during a robbery in Lancaster city.<\/p>\n
David Jordan: Jordan was found guilty of second-degree murder for his role in the October 2004 shooting death of Heather Nunn in her Lancaster city home.<\/p>\n
Cody Wunder and Stephen Harmer: Wunder and Harmer were convicted of second-degree murder in the shooting death of Douglas Herr in his Drumore Township home.<\/p>\n
Christopher Lyles and Michael Patrick Baker: Lyles and Baker were convicted of second-degree murder for their roles in the December 2016 shooting death of Dennis Pitch during a robbery in Salisbury Township.<\/p>\n
Javen Jackson: Jackson was found guilty of second-degree murder, robbery of a motor vehicle and arson in the November 2019 death of Thomas Blackwell. Blackwell, of Terre Hill, fell from his truck as Jackson tried to steal it after Jackson set fire to an apartment complex a few days earlier.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Senate legislation<\/p>\n
Martin said that after the court\u2019s ruling, state senators began meeting with stakeholders to craft legislation to remedy the matter.<\/p>\n
What emerged, he said, was a bipartisan bill sponsored by state Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Luzerne County. Lancaster County\u2019s three state senators, Republicans Martin and Chris Gebhard, and Democrat James Malone, voted for it.<\/p>\n
In her June 22 co-sponsorship memo, Baker wrote, \u201cIn discussing second-degree murder, many advocates, and in fact, the court itself, have placed heavy emphasis on the \u2018look out\u2019 or \u2018get away driver.\u2019 While it is true that the universe of inmates serving life sentences for second degree murder includes these less-culpable accomplices, it also includes individuals who actively participated in the murder.\u201d<\/p>\n
Baker\u2019s bill, Senate Bill 1400, recognizes differing degrees of culpability by generally giving judges discretion depending on a defendant\u2019s roll to sentence to between 35 years to life, with the possibility of parole.<\/p>\n