Feb 10, 2016 3 min read

A Washington County man who is serving life in prison without the possibility of parole will be resentenced because of a recent Supreme Court ruling.

Washington County President Judge Katherine B. Emery said Wednesday the case of Justin Michael Secreti, who was 16 when he and co-defendant Curtis Ross Johnson Jr. were charged with the murder of an elderly Cecil Township couple, is the first case before the county court as a result of the Supreme Court ruling that indicated juveniles sentenced to life terms should have an opportunity to argue for their freedom.

Pennsylvania Superior Court earlier this month vacated Secreti’s life sentence and ordered Washington County Court to resentence him.

Johnson was an adult at the time of the murder, and his case is not affected by the Supreme Court ruling, said Amanda Marie Como, who, with her partner, Benjamin Goodwin, is representing Secreti, 38.

Assistant District Attorney Jerome Moschetta, who is listed on the Superior Court ruling as the attorney for the commonwealth on the Secreti case, could not be reached for comment.

Como said Secreti is serving his life sentence at State Correctional Institution-Greene.

Como, who was appointed as Secreti’s attorney in 2013, said she had been seeking a resentencing for Secreti based upon a 2012 Supreme Court ruling that abolished life sentences without parole for juveniles.

Como said the Supreme Court ruling in January expanded the court’s earlier decision to include resentencings for juvenile lifers who were adjudicated before 2012.

“(Washington County) court stayed the (original motion for) resentencing to see what Pennsylvania was going to do,” Como said.

Juvenile advocates estimate 1,200 to 1,500 cases are affected by the recent Supreme Court ruling, according to a Washington Post article. More than 1,100 inmates are in three states – Pennsylvania, Louisiana and Michigan – where officials had decided the 2012 ruling was not retroactive.

“This (recent Supreme Court ruling) is huge for juveniles,” Como said.

In November 1995, Secreti and Johnson pleaded guilty to two counts each of first-degree homicide for murdering Charles Richert, 85, and his wife Rose, 81.

The elderly couple were found Aug. 22, 1993, beaten and stabbed in their Cecil Township home. About $10,000 was missing from the home.

Retired Washington County President Judge Thomas D. Gladden in January 1996 sentenced Secreti, then 18, and Johnson, then 22, to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Como said Secreti pleaded guilty to the murders to avoid the death penalty.

“That is quite scary for a juvenile,” Como said.

Como said Secreti will have to serve the minimum sentence originally ordered by Gladden before potentially being considered for parole.

“He may see some life outside jail when he is resentenced,” Como said.

Como said she plans next week to file a motion in court for the resentencing.

Leading up to a resentencing proceeding, Como plans to work on a pre-sentencing investigation she said will include consulting with child development experts and gathering information on Secreti’s childhood years as well as his prison records to find out about his behavior during incarceration.

“I am so glad my client will be resentenced with the possibility of parole since it occurred when he was a juvenile,” Como said. “I will do everything on my end to make sure the new sentence is (fairer) than the previous one.”