Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Derek Lee

At a Glance

Date Filed: 

July 13, 2023

Current Status 

On April 26, 2024, Derek Lee filed his appeal with the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and multiple groups and individuals filed amicus briefs in support.

Co-Counsel 

Client(s) 

Derek Lee, a Black man sentenced to death by incarceration in Pennsylvania

Case Description 

This case aims to end the state of Pennsylvania’s mandatory imposition of death-by-incarceration sentences, otherwise known as life without parole, for Derek Lee and others convicted of felony murder.

In 2014, Mr. Lee was convicted of felony murder for his alleged participation in a robbery that lead to a death that he did not commit and sentenced to life imprisonment with no possibility of parole. He is challenging the constitutionality of his sentence under the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and the Pennsylvania Constitution, which prohibits “cruel punishments.”

The application of the felony murder rule, which holds liable for murder a person who participates in a felony that leads to a death, is particularly extreme in Pennsylvania because the mandatory minimum sentence is life without parole. This contributes to the state’s status as a world capital of death by incarceration. With 5,200 people serving DBI sentences, the state has the country’s highest per capita rate and accounts for 10 percent of the U.S. total. Philadelphia county alone has more people serving these sentences than 45 states, and more than any country other than the United States. In Pennsylvania, as in the United States, Black people are disproportionately impacted. For example, of over 1,100 people sentenced to life without parole for felony murder in Pennsylvania, 70 percent are Black people.

While Mr. Lee’s case concerns only a subset of people serving DBI sentences, it could have broad implications for the legal and political effort to reduce or end life imprisonment.

Case Timeline

October 8, 2024
Pennsylvania Supreme Court hears oral argument on the constitutionality of Derek Lee's life with no possibility of parole (death by incarceration) sentence
October 8, 2024
Pennsylvania Supreme Court hears oral argument on the constitutionality of Derek Lee's life with no possibility of parole (death by incarceration) sentence

The oral argument is open to the public and held October 8th, 2024 at 9:30 a.m. at the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Room, 801 City-County Bldg, 414 Grant St. Pittsburgh, PA 15219

The oral argument can also be watched online at:  https://bit.ly/DerekLeeCaseLivestream

April 26, 2024

Derek Lee files a direct appeal in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania challenging the constitutionality of his mandatory life-without-parole sentence

April 26, 2024

Derek Lee files a direct appeal in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania challenging the constitutionality of his mandatory life-without-parole sentence

February 16, 2024
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania decides in Derek Lee's favor granting allowance of appeal
February 16, 2024
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania decides in Derek Lee's favor granting allowance of appeal
July 13, 2023
Amicus briefs are filed by former PA Dept. of Corrections Secretaries John Wetzel and George Little, the ACLU of Pennsylvania and the MacArthur Justice Center, Eighth Amendment Law Scholars, and The Sentencing Project, Boston University Center for Antiracist Research, Fair and Just Prosecution, and FAMM.
July 13, 2023
Amicus briefs are filed by former PA Dept. of Corrections Secretaries John Wetzel and George Little, the ACLU of Pennsylvania and the MacArthur Justice Center, Eighth Amendment Law Scholars, and The Sentencing Project, Boston University Center for Antiracist Research, Fair and Just Prosecution, and FAMM.
July 13, 2023
Abolitionist Law Center, Amistad Law Project, and Center for Constitutional Rights file a Petition for Allowance of Appeal in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
July 13, 2023
Abolitionist Law Center, Amistad Law Project, and Center for Constitutional Rights file a Petition for Allowance of Appeal in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania