In March, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in Commonwealth v. Lee ruled that the sentencing scheme for second degree murder in our Commonwealth is unconstitutional. The Court imposed a 120-day stay of its order, set to take effect on July 24, 2026, to provide the General Assembly with an opportunity to enact remedial legislation. In the near future, we will introduce a bill to resolve this issue.

In the wake of Lee, one of my constituents, Melody Kocis Bartusek, reached out to me expressing grave concerns. In 2007, her brother, Bryan Kocis, was brutally murdered by two men who broke into his home, slit his throat and nearly decapitated him with a knife, stabbed him 28 times in the torso, and then set a fire to cover up the horrific murder. Prior to trial, and in exchange for his testimony against his co-conspirator, Melody and her family gave the prosecutor their blessing to allow one of the defendants, Joseph Kerekes, to plead guilty to second degree murder and be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.

For the Kocis’, the Supreme Court’s decision has obviously introduced great uncertainty and concern. The trauma they endured from losing Bryan was lessened when his killers were convicted. Knowing they would remain incarcerated until their natural death helped Melody and her family move on and begin to heal. But nearly two decades after finally achieving justice, that same pain has unexpectedly resurfaced for reasons wholly unrelated to Bryan’s case. The notion that one of the two men who violently murdered their loved one could be released—despite all parties agreeing decades ago that he be incarcerated for the rest of his life—is understandably unsettling.

In discussing second degree murder, many advocates, and in fact, the Court itself, have placed heavy emphasis on the “look out” or “get away driver.” 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. To only focus on the former, while ignoring the latter, does great disservice to family members of the deceased who, like Melody, put their faith in our criminal justice system.

Our legislation will seek to ensure an opportunity to be released for those who deserve it, while simultaneously preserving the interests of both community safety and the family members of murder victims.Moving forward, the bill will establish a new system of sentencing for second degree murder convictions, providing discretion for courts to sentence based the degree of the defendants culpability and the circumstances of the case. Generally, it will authorize a sentencing range of 35 years to up to life (with the possibility of parole). There will be two additional fail safes, accommodating for outlier cases. First, the bill will establish a release valve for defendants with minimal culpability, authorizing a court to sentence below the 35 year minimum, but no less than 10 years, when specific criteria are met. Second, the bill will establish a LWOP option, should the prosecutor choose to pursue that sentence and the jury specifically determine that the defendant caused the death of the victim and an additional aggravating factor.

In an effort to ensure a uniform and consistent process, our legislation will allow offenders currently serving sentences for second degree murder to become eligible for parole (1) after serving at least 35 years incarceration or (2) attaining the age of 70 and having served at least 20 years.

Upon becoming eligible for parole, the parole board would decide whether to grant or deny parole. The bill will establish certain criteria for the parole board to consider in deciding whether to grant parole. And to ensure that victims are not repeatedly dragged through the parole process, the bill will impose a limit on the frequency with which an offender may re-petition the board after being denied parole.

I invite you join us in working to ensure an appropriate balance is achieved in addressing this court decision.