Examining how Pennsylvania has responded legislatively to Miller

This local story out of Pennsylvania, headlined "New law gives Lancaster County judges discretion in sentencing juvenile killers," provides effective coverage on Pennsylvania's new sentencing laws for juvenile killers in response to the Supreme Court's Eighth Amendment ruling in Miller this past June.  Here are excerpts:

A newly-passed law could lead to lighter sentences for juvenile killers in Lancaster County and statewide, according to local experts.

Gov. Tom Corbett recently signed Senate Bill 850, making life behind bars no longer a mandatory sentence for juveniles convicted of first- or second-degree murder. In fact, a juvenile convicted of second-degree murder, under the law, can't be sentenced to life without parole.  The changes in sentencing statutes apply to those convicted after June 24....

In pending and future cases under the new law, judges still have the option of ordering a life-without-parole sentence to anyone convicted of 1st-degree murder, regardless of their age.  However, the new law give judges much discretion, and flexibility, in sentencing. "Like it or not, that is the role we entrust to judges," Lancaster County Judge Dennis Reinaker said.  "Nobody is going to agree with every decision we make.  As judges, we have different ideas about things.  And that's as it should be."...

Philadelphia-based Juvenile Law Center, an advocacy group for juvenile offenders, says Senate Bill 850 "misses the mark."  The group, a reputable source in the legal community, claims in an opinion piece that the new provisions "not only leave life without parole as an option for juveniles convicted of first-degree murder, but also impose severe mandatory minimum sentences as the only alternative option."

The bill applies many proposals from the state's District Attorneys Association. Lancaster County District Attorney Craig Stedman said those proposals involved some compromise. "We fought hard to preserve higher mandatory minimums and the life-without-parole option for first-degree murderers," he said on Thursday.  "And in exchange agreed to take the life-without-parole option off the table for second-degree murderers."...

Those convicted of first-degree murder, meaning an act that is pre-meditated with intention to kill, can still receive life-without-parole terms.  A person under age 15 convicted of first-degree murder faces a mandatory 25-year term; a person between 15 and 17 faces a mandatory 35-year term.  "It is critical for the protection of the public that Pennsylvania preserved the option to make sure that the worst of the worst have no possibility of ever being released to kill again," Stedman said.

Mandatory sentences are slightly less in second-degree cases, as locals say they should be. Second-degree murder is a killing that happens during the course of another felony, most commonly burglary or robbery.  The mandatory minimum sentence for a juvenile 15 to 17 convicted of second-degree murder shrinks to 30 years.  Convicted second-degree killers under age 15 face a mandatory minimum of 20 years....

Many lawyers that appeal second-degree cases here argue their client was merely a "lookout," and less culpable than the person who did the actual killing. "That's entirely different than someone who specifically intended to target someone," Lancaster County Judge David Ashworth said. "When I sentence anybody, I consider culpability."

Additional recent local coverage of this new juve sentencing law in the Keystone State can be found in the Reading Eagle via "Sentencing guidelines for juveniles revised" and in the Wilkes Barre Times-Leader via "Juvenile bill makes changes."