The Pennsylvania House reconvened Thursday after members were called back from summer recess to vote on new second-degree murder sentencing guidelines before a court-imposed Friday deadline.

Seventeen people convicted of second-degree murder in Bucks County cases are among roughly 1,100 inmates statewide who could petition for resentencing if lawmakers fail to act by Friday, according to State Rep. Joseph Hogan, R-142, of Middletown Township.

State Rep. Jim Prokopiak, D-140, of Falls Township said he received notice at 6 p.m. Wednesday that the House would return. "We are going back on Thursday to work on addressing the second-degree murder (legislation)," Prokopiak said.

The crisis traces to March 2026, when the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled in Commonwealth v. Lee that mandatory life-without-parole sentences for second-degree murder are unconstitutional because they prevent courts from evaluating a defendant's individual culpability. Derek Lee had been convicted for his role in a fatal robbery but did not personally kill the victim. The court gave the General Assembly 120 days to enact a fix.

The Senate passed House Bill 1042 in a 30-20 vote on July 12, but the House left for recess the next day without acting. The legislature had been scheduled to stay out of session until September.

State Sen. Frank Farry, R-6, held a press conference on Wednesday at his Langhorne office to pressure the House. He was joined by Linda DeGennaro, sister of Danny DeGennaro, a Bucks County musician killed during a 2011 armed robbery in Bristol Township, and by DeGennaro's daughter Gia. Sen. Joseph Picozzi read Linda's written statement: "Words cannot express the pain and anguish my family has endured since Danny's murder."

Farry warned that any law enacted after Friday's deadline would apply only to future cases, leaving the roughly 1,100 current inmates without a clear sentencing framework. Without legislative action, he said, victims' families could be forced back into court for resentencing hearings.

The bill would set a 35-year minimum sentence for most second-degree murder convictions and allow the state parole board to consider releasing inmates who have served at least 35 years or are at least 70 years old. It would also guarantee victims' families a role in parole hearings, according to Farry.

State Rep. Tim Brennan, D-29, of Doylestown said he has been in bipartisan communication with district attorneys, the Attorney General's office, and House Judiciary Committee staff for months. He compared the situation to a 2012 ruling that overturned life sentences for juveniles and said he hoped a resolution could be reached before the Friday deadline.

Bucks County District Attorney Joe Khan, a Democrat, signed onto a Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association statement supporting clear sentencing guidelines and urging action before the deadline, according to his communications director Manuel Gamiz. The Bucks County Police Chiefs' Association also backed the legislation, Farry said.

Not everyone supports the Senate version. The Public Defenders Association of Pennsylvania said the bill "replicates the mistakes of Pennsylvania's current, unconstitutional sentencing scheme with high mandatory sentences that provide narrow opportunity for relief."