PETITION STATEMENT Please stand with us in support of the elimination of the Felony Murder Rule in PA. There are currently 153 signatures. NEW goal - We need 1,000 signatures! PETITION BACKGROUND There are 5,371 inmates who are currently serving life sentences in Pennsylvaniia without any chance for parole. Approximately 400 of the 5,371 “lifers” were convicted of second-degree murder but did not commit the actual killings. Accomplices to murder are treated the same as a killer, even if they themselves did not cause the death. Lifers account for one-10th of the Pennsylvania state prison population, cost taxpayers on average more than $870,000 over their lifetimes, and are under a punishment just as definitive as the death penalty. PA Senator Daylin Leach said, “80 people are facing the death penalty across the U.S. who didn't murder anyone.” In many cases, he contends, those convicted of felony murder end up with more severe punishments than the people who actually committed the murder. The felony murder rule is unjust punishment and “is not in line with punishing people for crimes they commit or intend to commit in a way commensurate with the crime". We are seeking to get legislation passed in Pennsylvania that will get rid of the felony murder rule for second-degree murder. This will prevent tax dollars (approximately $870 million) from being spent for a lifetime of incarceration and afford spending considerably less on rehabilitation and training for more favorable and economic outcomes. PLEASE SIGN TO GET RID OF PA’S FELONY MURDER RULE!