Earlier this month, two individuals were sentenced in Lackawanna County for their role in shooting Scranton Police Detective Kyle Gilmartin in the head in the early morning hours of January 11, 2024.  While justice was served in those cases, the proceedings themselves revealed a gap in our sentencing laws that could allow individuals who attempt to murder law enforcement officers to skirt appropriate punishment in the future. We intend to introduce legislation to prevent such a situation from occurring.

Specifically, our bill will bring the permissible sentence for criminal attempt – murder of a law enforcement officer of the first degree, 18 Pa.C.S.   2507(a), into relative parity with the sentence for assault of a law enforcement officer.

Under current law, the offense of assault of a law enforcement officer, 18 Pa.C.S.   2702.1(a)(1), involves the act of attempting to cause or causing bodily injury to a law enforcement officer by discharging a firearm. It carries a 20-year mandatory minimum sentence. See 42 Pa.C.S.   9719.1(a).

In contrast, however, the offense of criminal attempt – murder of a law enforcement officer in the first degree, 18 Pa.C.S.   2507(a), requires significantly more demanding proof—the specific intent to kill—yet is subject to a substantially lower sentence. This is true even when a failed murder of the law enforcement officer results in serious bodily injury, in which case the sentencing guidelines authorize a standard range sentence as low as 7 to 8 years.

We as legislators have the responsibility of ensuring that our sentencing laws reflect the values of our society and rationally prescribe penalties according to the seriousness of the offense. We ask for your support in making sure those who seriously injure officers through violent acts receive sentences that are proportional to their egregious conduct.