STATE LEGISLATURES TO DESIGN NEW SENTENCING GUIDELINES

A New Kensington man’s sentencing for second-degree murder has been delayed at least two months as state legislators decide new sentencing framework.  The Trib reports that 35-year-old Letreese Williams was scheduled to be sentenced in connection with a 2020 shooting, but Judge Scott Mears said it would not be wise to move forward with the sentencing hearing until the state legislature puts the new sentencing guidelines in place.  The state Supreme Court found in March that mandatory life sentences for second-degree murder convictions are unconstitutional. A court-imposed July 24 deadline passed without lawmakers passing new sentencing guidelines.  Both the house and senate have put their own versions forward, but they are radically different.