Simple common sense tells us that violent, dangerous criminals who present a serious threat to our communities belong behind bars.
It’s a shame common sense doesn’t seem to be too common in some corners of the state Capitol Building these days.
In March, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled mandatory life sentences without parole in second-degree murder cases were unconstitutional because they didn’t consider an individual’s level of responsibility for the crime.
Second-degree murder is a killing that takes place while committing a violent felony, such as robbery, rape, or arson. This includes many killers who were charged with even more serious crimes, but pled down to second-degree murder to avoid the death penalty.
The overwhelming majority of individuals convicted of second-degree murder were active participants in their crimes. For example, some of the individuals serving time for second-degree murder in my home county of Lancaster include:
· Christopher Lyles, who in 2016 fatally shot a 53-year-old man who was resting in his bed before a home invasion. Lyles is now an admitted member of a prison gang.
· Kyle Wunder, who in 2012 shot a 62-year-old man in the head at point-blank range while attempting to steal money the man received after his wife passed away.
· David Jordan, who in 2004 robbed a 24-year-old woman who was later shot to death execution-style as her two young children took a bath upstairs. He was also convicted of third-degree murder in a 2009 case in which he fatally stabbed a victim in the back.
I ask you this: do we really want any of these people back out on our streets?
The reality is sobering: there simply aren’t very many getaway drivers and accomplices serving life sentences. However, there are a whole lot of David Jordans, Kyle Wunders, and Christopher Lyles who still present very real threats – and similarly horrific examples exist in every county in Pennsylvania.
When the court ruled life sentences to be unconstitutional, they gave the legislature 120 days to set new guidelines. Ignoring this deadline would open a window for many of these dangerous criminals serving life sentences – about 1,160 statewide in total – to petition to be re-sentenced. This creates risks that some of them could be released from prison after re-sentencing to terrorize our communities once again.
After the court’s ruling, members of our Senate Republican Leadership team gathered input from key stakeholders, including victim advocates, law enforcement, the Attorney General and District Attorneys throughout the state.
We developed a new sentencing system for second-degree murder supported by all these key groups, including a new 35-year minimum, maintaining life without the possibility of parole for the worst offenses, and allowing potentially shorter sentences for defendants who meet certain narrow criteria.
We passed this bill in June, several weeks before the court’s deadline. When House Democratic leaders failed to act for several weeks, we passed our plan a second time as an amendment to a House Bill, still providing ample time for them to pass it quickly. Both Senate votes earned support from some Democrats as well as all Republicans.
Instead of allowing a vote on this bipartisan bill, House Democratic leaders waited until the day before the deadline to convene and passed their own bill that raised a whole host of new problems. Some of these provisions had nothing to do with second-degree murder sentencing in the slightest.
It didn’t set mandatory minimums. It created a medical parole system which was overly broad and not properly defined. None of the stakeholder groups we worked with support the House version, and most have actively spoken out against it.
This wasn’t a serious attempt at a real solution. It was a half-baked, overtly political calculation to deflect blame for their inaction on this issue and their indifference to these threats to our communities.
House Democrats say they expect the courts to handle these cases without any sentencing guidelines at all. That will only lead to unequal justice, with 67 different counties setting 67 different precedents.
What do you think will happen when this uneven playing field results in one killer getting a 10-year sentence while a similar murderer gets 50+ years? No convicted killer is going back to court to seek a harsher sentence; they will only go back to court to fight for less time.
Worse yet, many victims’ families may not have signed up for victim notifications because they believed their loved one’s killer would never see the light of day. Can we really expect to have a fair justice system if victims’ families can’t participate?
Our entire justice system is rooted in the principle of setting punishments that fit the nature of the crime and maintaining uniformity in sentencing. That’s exactly what Senate Republicans did. That’s precisely what House Democrats completely failed to do.
We all want a justice system that is fair, holds criminals accountable, and keeps our communities safe. We will keep working toward that goal.
It is shameful and deeply unfortunate that House Democrat leaders failed to put in the hard work to achieve that goal, not only because our communities become less safe as a result, but also because they now are re-traumatizing victims’ families and loved ones with fear and uncertainty as life-long wounds are ripped open once again through new court proceedings.
