The state Supreme Court was, in our opinion, correct when it ruled earlier this year that the state’s mandatory life sentence for second-degree murder convictions was unconstitutional.

The court found that automatic life terms violate the state constitution’s ban on cruel punishments by failing to consider individual culpability after a 2014 incident in which Derek Lee participated in a Pittsburgh robbery with an accomplice. While Lee was upstairs, his accomplice shot and killed a person in the basement. Under Pennsylvania’s felony murder rule, Lee was convicted of second-degree murder because the death occurred during a felony, resulting in an automatic, mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

It was the right decision. We also think Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Dallas, has arrived at an acceptable compromise following the court’s decision with Senate Bill 1400.

Generally, Senate Bill 1400 will authorize a sentencing range of 35 years to up to life with the possibility of parole. Judges in cases Baker said are outliers – such as when someone is a getaway driver or wasn’t actively involved in the death of another person – will have the ability to set a sentence less than the 35-year minimum but no less than 10 years when specific criteria are met. The bill also establishes a sentence of life in prison without parole if a jury determines a person charged with second-degree murder caused the death of the victim and one of four additional factors: if the victim was a law enforcement officer or a child under the age of 13, if rape or deviate sexual intercourse by force was involved in the crime, if the defendant was previously convicted of a violent crime or if the defendant caused serious bodily injury or death to another victim. Baker also proposes allowing those currently serving sentences for second-degree murder to become eligible for parole after serving at least 35 years incarceration or attaining the age of 70 and having served at least 20 years.

State lawmakers have until late July to rewrite the state’s sentencing laws for second-degree murder before a court-ordered delay on the Commonwealth v. Lee decision takes effect. Baker’s bill is a compromise that both Republicans and Democrats should be able to agree with.