Pennsylvania felony murder case could impact Philadelphia inmates

During their 15-minute calls, Lorraine Haw almost forgets that her son, Phillip Ocampo, is locked up for the rest of his life.

• But she's reminded each time the automated voice cuts in on the recorded prison line with a countdown.

Why it matters: Hundreds of Philadelphians like Ocampo are serving mandatory life sentences for felony murder, but the Pennsylvania Supreme Court will weigh a case this fall that could potentially change their fates.

The big picture: The appeal from Derek Lee, an Allegheny County man convicted and sentenced for felony murder in 2016, has significant implications for Pennsylvania, which has one of the nation's harshest penalties for felony murder.

• The state trails only Florida for the most people serving life without parole, per the Sentencing Project.

Catch up quick: Lee was sentenced to life without parole for his role in a robbery in which his accomplice killed a homeowner.

• He argues his mandatory life sentence is unconstitutional and should be considered cruel and unusual punishment.

Context: Under current state law, a person can be charged with felony murder for a death that occurs during a felony, even if they did not commit the killing or had no intent to kill.

• Without being granted a pardon or having their sentences commuted, those serving mandatory life sentences for felony murder have no hope of getting out of prison.

Driving the news: The Defender Association of Philadelphia and Gov. Josh Shapiro's office are among dozens of individuals and advocacy groups that have filed friend-of-the-court briefs in Lee's case, urging the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to strike down the felony murder law.

• The public defender's office argues prisoners deserve a "measure of mercy" and any ruling made in Lee's case should also retroactively apply to people currently serving life sentences.
• But while Shapiro agrees the current law is unjust, he says such a far-reaching ruling would "place substantial and unnecessary burdens on the legal system" because those people would have to be resentenced.
• Instead, he wants state lawmakers to have the chance to pass a new law addressing those cases — similar to what Pennsylvania did after the U.S. Supreme Court in 2012 struck down life sentences without parole for juveniles.

Between the lines: Rather than having judges individually resentence the more than 1,200 people imprisoned for felony murder, lawmakers could "act quickly and justly" to craft new sentencing rules to speed up the process, plus allow the parole board to determine which prisoners should be set free, Shapiro says.

• But advocates worry that passing such a law would take time and further delay resentencing for individuals like Ocampo, who have already served decades in prison.

What they're saying: The Defender Association says the law disproportionately impacts Black defendants, many of whom have court-appointed lawyers "overburdened with cases."

• Plus, continuing to imprison people is costly, especially older inmates. The state Department of Corrections estimates it spends more than $66,000 a year to house a single inmate and about $217,000 for each inmate who is sick and over 50.

The other side: Kelly Callihan, executive director of the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association, has argued that state officials must consider how a change in the law impacts surviving family members of victims.

• She says many would be retraumatized seeing people responsible in some way for their loved ones' deaths potentially being released.

By the numbers: Philadelphians account for nearly half of the more than 1,200 people serving life sentences for felony murder, per the Defender Association.

• 80% of those cases involved people age 30 or younger when they were sentenced. And many of those punishments were handed out during the 1980s and 1990s, when the U.S. embraced harsher anti-crime laws, per the Defender Association.
• 70% of people imprisoned in Philadelphia for felony murder have served at least 20 years, the office said.

Zoom in: In late May, Haw — known in North Philly as Mrs. Dee Dee — was one of several advocates who testified during a state House Judiciary Committee hearing urging lawmakers to pass a law capping prison terms at 50 years and offering parole to those sentenced for felony murder.

• Haw used her own experience as an example of people's capacity for change. She was once addicted to drugs and spent time in prison when her son was young. Haw says she turned her life around, got her record expunged and is pursuing a criminal justice degree.
• "We're not who people say we are," she said at the hearing.