Aug 15, 2016 3 min read

A state inmate serving life in prison for the 1994 killing of a Peters Township convenience store clerk shortly after he turned 18 is waiting on a Washington County judge to decide whether he can press forward with a bid for a new sentence in the more than 20-year-old case.

Judge Gary Gilman heard arguments Monday on a motion for resentencing filed in June on behalf of Jonathan Thomas, 39, formerly of Braddock Hills.

Mark Rubenstein, who represents Thomas, cited two recent U.S. Supreme Court precedents concerning offenders under 18, and said those ruling should apply to his client, who killed Phap “Jimmy” Nguyen 35 days after he turned 18 during a robbery.

One decision held mandatory life sentences for juveniles are unconstitutional. In the other, the court ruled those currently serving life in prison without the possibility of parole for crimes they committed before they turned 18 must be resentenced.

Rubenstein argued in the motion the rationale in the rulings “absolutely applies to (Thomas) given not only his age barely over 18, but also his significant mental health and developmental issues.”

Rubenstein asked Gilman to grant an evidentiary hearing where he plans to show Thomas acted “as an impulsive, immature and peer-influenced youthful offender.”

Assistant District Attorney Jerry Moschetta said Thomas waited too long after the more recent Supreme Court decision to ask for resentencing under the state Post-Conviction Relief Act. He also said the decisions Rubenstein cited apply only to offenders who were 18 when they committed the crime.

Gilman concluded the hearing Monday without saying whether he will order the evidentiary hearing or not.

Thomas pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and robbery in 1997. He was sentenced by then-judge Thomas Gladden to life without parole. Police said he fatally shot Nguyen, who was working the overnight shift at the A Plus Mini Mart, 120 E. McMurray Road, during a 1994 robbery that netted $283.

Thomas is housed at SCI- Houtzdale in Clearfield County, according to the Department of Corrections.

Of the Supreme Court cases Rubenstein cited, the first was decided in 2012. The majority ruled mandatory life sentences for offenders under 18 violate the Eighth Amendment protection against cruel and unusual punishment.

In the second, the court held this year that its earlier decision applied retroactively and ordered resentencing for those serving life without parole for crimes they committed before they were 18.

Moschetta acknowledged using 18 years of age to separate youthful from adult offenders is arbitrary but also called it a “clear line” and asserted the Supreme Court had the chance in both cases to revisit that cutoff but didn’t.

“It’s a very contemporary way of thinking, and, unfortunately for Mr. Thomas, he falls outside of that line,” Moschetta said.

Rubenstein disagreed.

“The Supreme Court can only rule on what is before them,” he said. “What was before them were two juveniles.”

Among the impairments that Rubenstein said show his client’s case fit the Supreme Court’s definition of an “immature offense” were Thomas’ composite IQ of 76, in the bottom fifth of scores; documented deficits in memory and other cognitive processes; and at least five psychiatric hospitalizations before he turned 17.

Department of Corrections spokeswoman Amy Worden said there are at least 513 “juvenile lifers” in the state prison system. A breakdown of how many inmates are serving life sentences for crimes they committed between 18 and 19 wasn’t available.