Supreme Court denies request for stay on second-degree murder ruling

(The Center Square) – The state Supreme Court on Friday afternoon denied the Allegheny County district attorney’s request to extend a stay on a ruling that declared unconstitutional language in the state’s second-degree murder sentencing framework, setting the stage for a legislative fight and many county murder case reviews.

The action came eight days after Allegheny DA Stephen Zappala filed a petition seeking an extension of the original 120-day stay on the ruling, issued four months earlier. The majority of the justices on Friday denied the request, but two – Kevin Dougherty and Sallie Updyke Mundy – disagreed with the majority.

The denial throws a cloud of uncertainty around the status of life sentences pertaining to second-degree mu...