PRINTER'S NO. 3108
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
2296
Session of
2024
INTRODUCED BY BRIGGS, WEBSTER, MADDEN, KINKEAD, HILL-EVANS,
SANCHEZ, HOHENSTEIN, SCHLOSSBERG, DONAHUE, T. DAVIS, KHAN,
HOWARD, SHUSTERMAN, KRAJEWSKI, McCLINTON, CERRATO, BOYD AND
GIRAL, MAY 20, 2024
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, MAY 20, 2024
AN ACT
Amending Titles 18 (Crimes and Offenses) and 61 (Prisons and
Parole) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in
authorized disposition of offenders, further providing for
sentence for murder, murder of unborn child and murder of law
enforcement officer and for sentence of persons under the age
of 18 for murder, murder of an unborn child and murder of a
law enforcement officer; and, in Pennsylvania Board of
Probation and Parole, further providing for parole power.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Sections 1102(b) and 1102.1(c) of Title 18 of the
Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes are amended to read:
§ 1102. Sentence for murder, murder of unborn child and murder
of law enforcement officer.
* * *
(b) Second degree.--Except as provided under section 1102.1,
a person who has been convicted of murder of the second degree,
of second degree murder of an unborn child or of second degree
murder of a law enforcement officer shall be sentenced to a term
of [life] imprisonment of not more than 50 years.
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* * *
§ 1102.1. Sentence of persons under the age of 18 for murder,
murder of an unborn child and murder of a law
enforcement officer.
* * *
(c) Second degree murder.--A person who has been convicted
after June 24, 2012, of a murder of the second degree, second
degree murder of an unborn child or murder of a law enforcement
officer of the second degree and who was under the age of 18 at
the time of the commission of the offense shall be sentenced as
follows:
(1) A person who at the time of the commission of the
offense was 15 years of age or older shall be sentenced to a
term of imprisonment [the minimum of which shall be at least
30 years to life] of not more than 40 years.
(2) A person who at the time of the commission of the
offense was under 15 years of age shall be sentenced to a
term of imprisonment [the minimum of which shall be at least
20 years to life] of not more than 30 years.
* * *
Section 2. Section 6137(a)(1) and (3) of Title 61 are
amended and the subsection is amended by adding a paragraph to
read:
§ 6137. Parole power.
(a) General criteria for parole.--
(1) The board may parole subject to consideration of
guidelines established under 42 Pa.C.S. § 2154.5 (relating to
adoption of guidelines for parole) or subject to section
6137.1 (relating to short sentence parole) and such
information developed by or furnished to the board under
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section 6174 (relating to right of access to offenders), or
both, and may release on parole any offender to whom the
power to parole is granted to the board by this chapter,
except an offender condemned to death or serving life
imprisonment for a conviction under 18 Pa.C.S. § 2502(a)
(relating to murder), whenever in its opinion:
(i) The best interests of the offender justify or
require that the offender be paroled.
(ii) It does not appear that the interests of the
Commonwealth will be injured by the offender's parole.
* * *
(3) The power to parole granted under this section to
the board may not be exercised in the board's discretion at
any time before, but only after, the expiration of the
minimum term of imprisonment fixed by the court in its
sentence or by the Board of Pardons in a sentence which has
been reduced by commutation[.], except as follows:
(i) Notwithstanding 42 Pa.C.S. § 9757 (relating to
consecutive sentences of total confinement for multiple
offenses), the board may grant parole 25 years after the
date of incarceration for an offender sentenced to life
imprisonment under 18 Pa.C.S. § 1102(b) (relating to
sentence for murder, murder of unborn child and murder of
law enforcement officer).
(ii) Notwithstanding 42 Pa.C.S. § 9757, the board
may grant parole 20 years after the date of incarceration
for an offender sentenced under 18 Pa.C.S. § 1102.1(c)(1)
(relating to sentence of persons under the age of 18 for
murder, murder of an unborn child and murder of a law
enforcement officer).
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(iii) Notwithstanding 42 Pa.C.S. § 9757, the board
may grant parole 15 years after the date of incarceration
for an offender sentenced under 18 Pa.C.S. § 1102.1(c)
(2).
(iv) Before parole may be granted under subparagraph
(i), (ii) or (iii), the board must give primary
consideration to the protection of the public and to
victim safety. In addition to the considerations required
under 42 Pa.C.S. § 2154.5, when determining whether to
grant parole under subparagraph (i), (ii) or (iii), the
board shall consider the level of culpability of the
person in the underlying murder, including, but not
limited to, whether the person directly caused or
intended to cause a death.
* * *
(3.2) The power to parole a person under paragraph (3)
(i), (ii) or (iii) may only be utilized if the victims of the
underlying offense have been notified that parole is being
considered and are given the opportunity to be heard by the
board, unless there is good cause that notice or the
opportunity to be heard could not be provided. Nothing in
this paragraph shall be construed to reduce, alter or
eliminate any rights of a victim under section 201 of the act
of November 24, 1998 (P.L.882, No.111), known as the Crime
Victims Act.
* * *
Section 3. The addition of 61 Pa.C.S. § 6137(a)(3)(i), (ii),
(iii) and (iv) and (3.2) shall apply to the incarceration of an
offender sentenced before, on or after the effective date of
this section.
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Section 4. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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