COAL TOWNSHIP, Pa. (WHTM) — Nearly two dozen Pennsylvania lawmakers recently went to a prison to hear from those serving life sentences, also known as lifers, about possible criminal justice reforms.

Legislative fixes were proposed, but at the core of the conversation was a basic moral question: Do you believe in second chances? If so, does that also apply to those who have taken a life?

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This Week in Pennsylvania

abc27’s Dennis Owens was the only journalist to join Pennsylvania lawmakers at SCI Coal Township as they spoke with prisoners about whether redemption is possible.

“My slogan, Dennis, is we are not our crimes,” said SCI Coal Township inmate Rob Pezzecca. “We have grown to become so much more, and I am not my worst day.”

Pezzecca, who killed and dismembered his landlord in 1998, is currently serving life. Has been serving the life term for 27 of his 48 years.

“I’m trying to bring people in to show that we are not the monsters that everyone thinks we are,” said Pezzecca, who was a driving force behind a historic committee hearing at the state prison in Coal Township. Democrats and Republicans, House and Senate, heard directly from lifers.

“It left me with an answer, asking the question, ‘What amount of time equals justice and what amount of time becomes revenge for a crime?'” said State Rep. Nikki Rivera (D-Lancaster County). “Hearing the prisoners’ testimonies about their transformation and to hear their superintendent, McGinley, advocating for them in their transformation, it kind of opened my eyes a little bit.”

“It was really inspiring, meeting folks serving life prison sentences with ideas on legislation,” said Rep. Tim Briggs (D-Montgomery County). “They are caring. They are compassionate. They have a lot to offer.”

The question remains: Should they get a second chance at freedom?

“Some of these folks never killed anybody,” said Sen. Sharif Street (D-Philadelphia County). “They were present when a crime was committed and someone was killed.”

It’s called felony life. Pennsylvania is one of the few states with it, but several lawmakers want to abolish it.

“Whether you’re the person who was the main aggressor in a crime or whether you drove a car, your role doesn’t matter,” said House Speaker Johanna McClinton (D-Delaware/Philadelphia). “If you’re sentenced to life without parole, it means you die in jail.”

In some instances, the actual killer gets out while the accomplice does life.

“How is that justice?” asked Sen. Camera Bartolotta (R), the co-founder of the Criminal Justice Reform Caucus. “That doesn’t seem to be justice to me.”

Many argue that the commutation process overseen by the Board of Pardons is also unjust. The Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, and three gubernatorial appointees make up the board. They must vote 5-0 to recommend a commutation to the Governor. Some want the threshold lowered to 3-2. Senator Bartolotta prefers 4-1.

“You can’t get five people to agree on what to put on a pizza,” said Sen. Bartolotta.

In the rare case a lifer gets recommended for commutation, it’s up to the Governor to decide. This means three elected officials, who may have future political goals, can choose to free inmates with a past.

“There’s a lot of risk,” said Rep. Briggs. “It only takes one or two people to do something awful to scare people from being compassionate, but I think we are a better Commonwealth. The public wants second chances.”

Governors want second terms in office. Former Gov. Tom Wolf, for instance, commuted five lifers in his first four years. That number jumped to 50 in his final four years, with no future elections. Wolf was by far the most generous.

Some lawmakers want automatic parole hearings if, say, an inmate is over 50 years old and has served more than 25 years, or over 60 years old and has served 30 years.

“It’s the ‘Department of Corrections,'” said Sen. Bartolotta. “What are we correcting if we give no hope of anything and if we don’t try to reward good behavior and at least give them a voice after 25 years?”

Many also argue that elderly infirm lifers should at least have a chance at release.

“We don’t want to spend money on people who are elderly, who are no longer a threat, and who have, in fact, been redeemed,” said Speaker McClinton. “What we want to do is not open the door, but provide a window for them to apply for parole and be considered.”

“Not everyone deserves to die in prison,” said Pezzecca.

But Pezzecca knows that he likely will, despite his relentless behind-bars advocacy and good behavior.

“I am completely guilty of my crime,” said Pezzecca.

In Pennsylvania, both political parties now agree: No more masks! But for whom?

Some people might say that for that crime, which was heinous, Pezzecca should just stay behind bars for the rest of your life. Pezzecca has one message to those people:

“I say to them, meet the person I am today,” Pezzecca said.

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