SENATOR SCOTT MARTIN

 Senator Scott Martin joins the show to discuss a pressing issue that's been making headlines: the Supreme Court's ruling that life imprisonment for second-degree murder is unconstitutional. The conversation gets personal and raises questions about accountability and fairness.

A bill that's been making its way through the Senate, aiming to establish a uniform statewide standard for parole eligibility. Senator Martin explains that the bill would ensure those convicted of second-degree murder serve at least 35 years in prison or reach the age of 70 before becoming eligible for parole. The goal is to prevent judges from giving preferential treatment to certain individuals, like those who've committed heinous crimes.

With the House set to reconvene and vote on the bill, Senator Martin expresses hope that they'll do the right thing and pass it before the July 24th deadline.

If you're concerned about community safety and the justice system, this episode is a must-listen. Tune in to hear Senator Martin's insights and the conversation that's sparking a buzz online.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
At eight o'clock. This is the RJ Harris Breakfast Show,

(00:04):
and we welcome back to the show Senator Scott Martin
from Leicester County. Good morning, Senator, how are you sir?

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Good morning RJ. How are you, my friend?

Speaker 1 (00:14):
I'm doing well. It's good to have you on here.
I know we do because as usual you ran into
holly someplace, right.

Speaker 2 (00:22):
Always do. We always find a way to cross paths
and it serves as a good reminder to catch up
with you as well.

Speaker 1 (00:28):
No, she said that, you said, you know, say hi
to RJ. And she said, well, you ought to come
on the air and we have something very important to
talk about because the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth ruled
that life imprisonment for second degree murder is unconstitutional. And
as I understand it, the reason they said that is

(00:49):
there's some folks in there for a second degree murder
where they were Listen, if you're part of a crime,
you're not a bystander. But they're not the person who
pulled the trigger. They didn't know the trigger was going
to be pulled, but they were charged with second degree murder.
And then you have the heinous folks that you've talked
about and that the the ones on the lighter side,

(01:13):
it's cruel and unusual punishment for life imprisonment.

Speaker 2 (01:17):
Did I get that right, Yeah, you absolutely did. And
you know, here's part of the issue is you have
one side who's trying to say, well, this could just
be like the driver of the car and he had
no idea. Well, there was like ten of those. In reality,
we have eleven hundred people. And when I say some
gruesome things are jay like, you know, we have one

(01:38):
that killed an elderly woman and set her house on fire.
You know, we had to hire someone who hired a
hitman to kill his wife. You know, one that escaped
the penitentiary and kidnapped and brutally beat and strangled this
young woman and left her at her place of employment.
She had just left to pick up lunch.

Speaker 1 (01:56):
Wow.

Speaker 2 (01:56):
Like, So there's many gruesome ones. And the thing to
remember about the criminal justice system is there's a lot
of times people who are charged with first degree murder
and the DA's are seeking the death penalty, and what
they do is they have plea deals and they'll plead
they have life in prison at murder too instead. So
you have victims' families out there who never signed up

(02:18):
for victim services because you know, to be or received
notifications because they were under the impression that their loved
ones killers would never see the light of day. And
so you know when you look at eleven hundred that
we had till July twenty fourth, Since March, this has
been going on and people working hard, a Senator Baker,
Senator Langerholtz working hard with the DA's Association and Attorney General. Sunday,

(02:41):
you know, we've kicked over a Senate bill, and then
when we passed the budget we actually kicked over. We
re loaded into a House bill too, something that they
could easily concur on. But then they left town and
recessed for the summer. Now there is a spec of
good news here. I saw yesterday that the House did
shine a non voting meeting for today and a voting

(03:05):
meeting for tomorrow. I'm hoping it's because they feel pressure
on this to meet that deadline of July twenty fourth,
but it's it's really important because I think five hundred
of these let's say five hundred and sixty are from
the city of Philadelphia. I think we all are aware
that right now Philadelphia has a DA that when he's
seeking the resentence this person. He's been very light on

(03:27):
serious offenders, and he's also had his hands slap by judges,
including the PA Supreme Court, on misleading them.

Speaker 1 (03:34):
And that's Krasner correct.

Speaker 2 (03:37):
Yeah, yes, District Attorney Krasner in Philadelphia. So it's really
important that we have guidelines in place that set clear
standards for these judges to roll under, you know, no
matter what, whether they murdered a police officer or any
of the heinous things that we said, that they serve
the proper time and that that justice continues to be

(03:58):
served because as you're aware to all these crazy examples
and the horrific examples I give you, they're not getting
the benefit of getting a second chance.

Speaker 1 (04:06):
Okay, we're on the phone with Senate PA Senator Scott Martin,
a senator. Tell us what the bill that was sent
from the Senate to the House does then to protect
the victims and protect us.

Speaker 2 (04:22):
Well first and foremost, that actually set sets guidelines that
they can use in the court. The bill establishes basically
a unified, a uniform, statewide standard allowing those convicted of
second degree murder to become eligible for parole only after
serving at least thirty five years in prison, or upon
reaching the age seventy after serving at least twenty years,

(04:45):
and so again, it also makes sure that those who
were let's say, cop killers or those who had some
pretty aggravated circumstances aren't given any preferential treatment or lighthearted
treatment at all.

Speaker 1 (05:00):
So could they be re sentenced just this side of
a life sentence in some way, I don't and I
don't even know what that is.

Speaker 2 (05:11):
Yeah, I mean, in reality, depending on what the age
they are, and depending on what if this bill would pass,
it's very possible that they would still serve life in prison. Okay, However,
you know what we can't know, the great unknown is
is again the Krasner example in Philadelphia, or judges who
want to give any special select treatment and that someone's

(05:32):
released out in the community and the family doesn't know
the das don't even know how to get a hold
of the family anymore. And so that that's part of
what that concern is and why it's so important that we,
you know, put these guidelines in place. And again, are
there any that are you know, the potential that were
they were just in a getaway car. Yeah, but there's

(05:55):
a difference too if they're in the getaway car or
or they were in the car and there's tech messages
showing that, yeah, you'll pull the trigger, i'll get the weapon,
I'll drive a car. That's much different than someone innocently
being out there. So that's a very few number of those.
It's enough that our efforts have the full support of
all the das, the DA's Association in Pennsylvania, and Attorney General.

(06:17):
We're about to do a press conference here in Lancaster
County with the Attorney General and District Attorney Heather Adams
to really highlight this. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that
this is why. I'm sure it's probably one of the
reasons why that the House is coming back, because it's
such a serious issue. Yeah, it's been to a big
buzz online and people are really worried about the safety
in their communities and for their families. I just hope

(06:40):
they don't play games with this bill and do something
like an amendment or something that would close it. They
have to come back to the Senate and not meet
that deadline.

Speaker 1 (06:49):
No, that would absolutely be crazy, there's no question about that.
But they do have to come back to town to vote.
They can't vote by extension, No, they do have to.

Speaker 2 (07:02):
What the House rules are exactly on people who aren't
in place, I can't exactly tell you. I'm obviously I
don't know if they can be on leave and still vote.
They've had different rules than we do. But obviously they
need a quorum of some fashion in order to do this.
I mean, there's no secret. I mean it's got to
be about this issue. I just hope they do the
right thing because all I've seen so far from members

(07:25):
of their House Judiciary Committee, I think there was one
kink Head I think was her name, representative from Western Pa,
who really took the tack of you know, well, we
believe all people are redeemable, you know I do too, Yeah,
but also believe there should still be accountability.

Speaker 1 (07:41):
Yeah. Yeah. By the way, Attorney General Dave Sunday will
be on the show tomorrow about seven forty nine, so
he'll be on here too. Thank you for coming on today,
and good luck with the news conference today. And we
hope that your hunch is right that they'll be back
in and they'll vote this thing through and the governor,

(08:02):
I'm assuming we'll sign it.

Speaker 2 (08:05):
Yeah, I mean, I think it would be very foolish
not to. This is a huge community safety issue, So
we'll see where it goes. And before I go our Jay,
I just need to say to you too, it's very
ironic that you and I are talking because over the years,
it's interesting now to see that Congress is grappling with
the daylight Saving Time bill and ending the changing of
the clocks, which I knew you and I have talked about.

Speaker 1 (08:27):
All yeah, it is amazing that it was at least
voted through in one body. We'll see where it goes
from here. So but we have been down that path
and many others, and I really do appreciate your friendship
and willingness to call. And I hope you keep running
into Holly. I'm sure you will.

Speaker 2 (08:48):
I will, and we'll do this again soon.

Speaker 1 (08:50):
All right, sounds good? Take care. That's a state Senator,
Scott Martin. It is seven forty five