The Pennsylvania Superior Court has refused to overturn the 40-year minimum prison sentence handed down 19 months ago to a juvenile who was convicted of the 1988 murder and robbery of a 72-year-old Altoona man, Pasquale Lascoli, who was found dead in his home. He had been stabbed 78 times. James Rodgers, who was later convicted of the murder, was 17 years old at the time of the murder, and he was sentenced in 1991 to life without parole, which at that time was the mandatory sentence for first degree murder. Rodgers is now 50 years old. But 9 years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that life without parole for a defendant who committed murder while under the age of 18 violated the U.S. constitutional bar against cruel and unusual punishment.
Rodgers was granted a resentencing hearing, and defense attorneys requested a new sentence with a 25-year minimum, which would have made Rodgers immediately eligible for parole. The 40-year minimum means that Rodgers won’t be eligible for parole until 2028.
