Butler County’s lead prosecutor and public defender said they don’t know of any criminal cases in the county that would be impacted by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s recent ruling barring mandatory life prison sentences for people convicted of second-degree murder.

In a March 26 ruling on an appeal of a life without parole sentence in a 2014 Allegheny County murder case, the state’s high court found mandatory life sentences without parole for second-degree murder convictions unconstitutional.

“We determine that a mandatory life without parole sentence for all felony murder convictions, absent an assessment of culpability, is inconsistent with the protections bestowed upon our citizens under the ‘cruel punishments’ clause of our Commonwealth’s organic charter,” wrote Pennsylvania Supreme Court Chief Justice Debra Todd for the majority.

Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger said he hasn’t conducted a formal search for second-degree murder convictions in the county, but can’t think of any cases in which such a conviction resulted in a life without parole sentence since at least the mid-1990s.

He said he is not surprised by the Supreme Court ruling and understands it, but does not agree with it or changes in state sentencing guidelines that reduce sentences.

“I’m not surprised by it, knowing how trends are going with appellate courts and justice reform,” Goldinger said about the mandatory life without parole ruling.

He said he understands the arguments for the ruling and reasoning behind it, — which questions, for example, why a getaway driver should get a life sentence when an accomplice killed someone.

“In a way I can see that. I don’t necessarily agree. I understand, but do not agree with a lot of justice reform that allows for lighter sentences,” Goldinger said.

He said life without parole sentences for second-degree murder have been established in law for many years, but he feels politics is now involved.

“Nothing else has changed. In that sense, I don’t agree. This is the way things have been forever. It’s not cruel and unusual. It wasn’t before, so why is it now?” Goldinger said.

He said he believes that type of reform is taking place in Pennsylvania and across the country.

Sentencing guideline changes that went into effect in 2024 reduced sentences and limited how much of a defendant’s criminal history can be used in sentencing, he noted.

“The sentencing guidelines we now have to deal with on a daily basis reduce the penalty for a crime they would have got more time for a few years ago,” Goldinger said.

A defendant’s entire criminal record used to be looked at for sentencing purposes. The new guidelines limit that review to only the most serious offense, he said.

Butler County public defender Charles Nedz also said he isn’t aware of any second-degree murder cases in the county that involved a life without parole sentence. Both said second-degree murder used to be referred to as felony murder.

Nedz said he has read, but hasn’t thoroughly reviewed, the Supreme Court ruling.

“It’s hard to determine what the long term impact of this decision is going to be,” Nedz said. “It does appear life for second-degree murder is out the window.”

He said his office has negotiated plea agreements in which second-degree murder was a consideration.

“I’ve always felt that life without parole for second-degree murder is a little bit extreme,” Nedz said.

As an example, he said it would be extreme for someone charged with burglary to get a life sentence if the victim dies of a heart attack during the burglary.

“We’re heading in the right direction,” Nedz said.

The state high court’s ruling came in the appeal of a life without parole sentence imposed on an Allegheny County man for his role in the death of a Pittsburgh man during a robbery in his home.

Derek S. Lee, 38, of Penn Hills, and Paul L. Durham, 38, of Pittsburgh, entered the home of Leonard Butler and Tina Chapple on Oct. 14, 2014, while their son was at school.

Lee and Durham herded Butler and Chapple into the basement, forced them to kneel and demanded money. Lee pistol whipped Butler before taking his watch and running upstairs, but Durham remained with the couple. Butler struggled with Durham over the gun and a shot was fired that killed Butler, according to court records.

In 2016, a jury convicted Lee and Durham of second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit robbery. Both were given life sentences without parole for second-degree murder and an additional 10 to 20 years in prison for the conspiracy charge.

Lee appealed, securing the ruling on second-degree murder sentences.

“We find that a mandatory sentence of life without parole for all individuals convicted of second-degree murder cannot be reasonably justified by any of the traditional theories for punishment. While the justifications for punishment may support life-long incarceration for some convicted of this crime, such justification cannot support life without parole for all offenders, as individuals who have lessened culpability are less deserving of the most severe punishments, necessitating individualized assessment of culpability,” Todd wrote in the decision.

The ruling reversed a 2020 state Superior Court decision.

Durham’s petition to file an appeal in state Supreme Court was denied, but he is seeking post-conviction relief in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court.