HARRISBURG - A bill to adjust sentences for juveniles who commit murder and keep regular juvenile offenders out of detention centers goes to the governor for signing after winning final approval Wednesday in the Senate.
The measure, approved 37-12, is a response to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in June striking down state laws that require juveniles convicted of homicide to life in prison without a chance of parole.
It establishes a sentencing tier for murder tied to the age of a juvenile offender. For example, a juvenile under age 15 would serve at least 25 years for first-degree murder.
Under current state law, individuals convicted of first degree murder face a minimum life term regardless of age.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Stewart Greenleaf, R-12, Willow Grove, requires courts to consider the least restrictive punishment for regular juvenile offenders. This is a response to abuses in the sentencing of juveniles to a for-profit detention center uncovered by the Luzerne County Courthouse scandal. All senators representing Northeast Pennsylvania voted for the bill.
The bill directs courts to use the "least restrictive intervention that is consistent with the protection of the community, the imposition of accountability for offenses committed and the rehabilitation, supervision and treatment needs of the child."
Under the bill, confinement of a juvenile would be considered an option only when necessary and for a minimum amount of time.
Mr. Greenleaf, the Senate judiciary committee chairman, has said that sending a juvenile to a detention facility is the worst thing that can be done.
The bill includes a provision sponsored by Rep. Gerald Mullery, D-119, Newport Twp., to expand the scope of the state Office of the Victim Advocate to include victims of juvenile crime. The office is currently prohibited from advocating for victims of juvenile crime.
A number of laws have been enacted this year to strengthen legal protections for juvenile offenders such as requiring that counsel be present at juvenile delinquency hearings and prohibiting shackling of juveniles in the courtroom.
The impetus for these laws came from the federal probe that led to lengthy prison terms for former Luzerne County Judges Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. and Michael T. Conahan.
Contact the writer: rswift@timesshamrock.com