Zachary Witman could be out in 2019, but what about other resentenced juvenile lifers?

York Daily Record

Confessed teen killer Zachary Witman could be released from prison as soon as January 2019.

Three other of York County's so-called juvenile lifers were resentenced and paroled last year.

The resentencings were necessary after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that mandatory life without parole for killers under 18 at the time of their crimes was unconstitutional.

Witman will have served more than 14 years in prison when he comes up for parole. He will be 35.

Two men both served more than 42 years before they were paroled. One was 59 and the other was 60. A third served 30 years and was paroled at age 44.

The difference between Witman's case and their cases is that Witman was granted a new trial because his trial attorney was deemed ineffective.

Instead of being resentenced for first-degree murder, Witman got the opportunity to negotiate his first-degree murder charge down to third-degree and a lesser sentence.

The others had no grounds to argue for a new trial, and their first- or second-degree murder convictions stood.

The remaining teen lifers who have been resentenced will be between 44 and 70 when they have their first chance at parole. They will have spent between 30 to 55 years of their lives behind bars by then.

Here are those defendants and their parole eligibility dates.

Scott Griffin

Story:Teen killer from York County freed at 60 years old

DOB: Jan. 28, 1957
Age at murder: 16 years, 11 months, 14 days
Date of murder: Jan. 11, 1974
Victim: Linda Hagens, 17
Relationship: Ex-girlfriend
Method of murder: Shooting
Following their breakup, Hagens went to Griffin’s home on North State Street near Olive Street in York. Griffin had warned that he’d shoot her if she showed up. According to police reports, she replied, “Go ahead if it will make you happy.”
Jury verdict: Guilty of first-degree murder, May 17, 1974
Sentence: Life without parole
Resentenced: Dec. 19, 2016
New sentence: 43 years to life
Paroled: March 30, 2017 at age 60

Larry Markle

Story:40 years later, York killer will always 'have remorse'

DOB: Sept. 13, 1958
Age at murder: 17 years, 26 days
Date of murder: Oct. 9, 1975
Victim: Arthur Klinedinst, 72
Relationship: Bystander in robbery
Method of murder: Shooting
Markle entered Eddie’s Food Market on West Philadelphia Street near West Clarke Avenue with a shotgun hidden in a box. He robbed the store of more than $100 and killed Klinedinst, a customer who walked in on the robbery.
Jury verdict: Guilty of second-degree murder, Jan. 27, 1978
Sentence: Life without parole
Resentenced: Dec. 19, 2016
New sentence: 42 years to life
Paroled: Oct. 10, 2017 at age 59

Warner Batty Jr.

Story:York County man to serve 50–life in 'heinous' murder

DOB: June 11, 1959
Age at murder: 15 years, seven months and 21 days
Date of murder: Feb. 1, 1975
Victim: Betty Marie Ilgenfritz Bradford, 26
Relationship: Stranger, abducted
Method of murder: Beaten and suffocated
Batty and Donald Riviera, 18, forced Bradford, who was going to a corner grocery store to buy milk for her 2-year-old daughter, into a vacant home on Locust Street in York. She was gang-raped over a matter of hours by an unknown number of men. Batty and Riviera then killed her to prevent her from identifying them to police, put a mattress over her body and set it on fire.
Plea: Pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, Nov. 25, 1975
Sentence: Life without parole
Resentenced: June 6, 2017
New sentence: 50 years to life
Parole: Eligible for parole Feb. 6, 2025 at age 65

Scott Davis

Story:Man who fatally shot Springettsbury neighbor at 15 wants to advocate for non-violence

DOB: April 7, 1965
Age at murder: 15 years, two months
Date of murder: June 7, 1980
Victim: Roderick Kotchin, 40
Relationship: Employer and neighbor
Method of murder: Shooting
Davis said he committed the murder out of anger and revenge. Kotchin had fired him from a job as a landscaper after he stole Kotchin's Cadillac and went on a joyride.
Jury verdict: Guilty of first-degree murder, May 7, 1981
Sentence: Life without parole
Resentenced: Dec. 7, 2017
New sentence: 40 years to life
Parole: Eligible for parole June 8, 2020 at age 55

Michael Lehman

Story:'Parole's not a gift,' judge tells convicted murderer

DOB: July 30, 1973
Age at murder: 14 years, 10 months and 19 days
Date of murder: June 18, 1988
Victim: Kwame Beatty, 23
Relationship: Youth counselor at Children's Home where Lehman was placed
Method of murder: Stabbing
Lehman was one of four people -- three juveniles and 25-year-old Cornell Mitchell -- convicted of first-degree murder. He helped the others gain entrance to the home and acted as a lookout, not participating in the actual stabbing.
Jury verdict: Guilty of first-degree murder, Jan. 17, 1990
Sentence: Life without parole
Resentenced: April 4, 2017
New sentence: 30 years to life
Paroled: June 19, 2018 at age 44

Dwayne Morningwake

Story:Man to serve 55 years–life for murder of youth counselor at group home in North York

DOB: July 22, 1972
Age at murder: 15 years, 10 months and 27 days
Date of murder: June 18, 1988
Victim: Kwame Beatty, 23
Relationship: Youth counselor at Children's Home where Morningwake was placed
Method of murder: Stabbing
Morningwake and three others stabbed Beatty to death after surprising him in his room.
Jury verdict: Guilty of first-degree murder, April 14, 1989
Sentence: Life without parole
Resentenced: Oct. 6, 2017
New sentence: 46 years to life
Parole: Eligible for parole June 28, 2043 at age 70

Wilfredo Caballero

Story:A sentence less than life for Wilfredo Cabarello, convicted as teen in brutal beating death

DOB: Sept. 15, 1973
Age at murder: 14 years, 11 months and 12 days
Date of murder: Aug. 27, 1988
Victim: Jose Cosme, 49
Relationship: Acquaintance
Method of murder: Blunt force trauma
Cabarello took offense at what he perceived as a homosexual advance and beat Cosme to death with a tree branch.
Jury verdict: Guilty of first-degree murder, Aug. 30, 1990
Sentence: Life without parole
Resentenced: Nov. 21, 2017
New sentence: 33 years, 10 months and 12 days to life
Parole: Eligible for parole Nov. 21, 2022 at age 49

Daron Nesbit

Story:Man to serve 38 years to life for 1997 murder he committed as a teen

DOB: Oct. 23, 1980
Age at murder: 16 years, four months and 13 days
Date of murder: March 8, 1997
Victim: Paul Smith, 21
Relationship: Stranger
Method of murder: Shooting
Nesbit shot and killed a stranger outside a York restaurant following an argument.
Jury verdict: Guilty of first-degree murder, Nov. 20, 2001
Sentence: Life without parole
Resentenced: July 7, 2017
New sentence: 38 years to life
Parole: Eligible for parole March 11, 2025 at age 44.

Zachary Witman

Story:'I killed my brother:' Zachary Witman admits to gruesome 1998 murder; parole now possible

DOB: May 16, 1983
Age at murder: 15 years, four months and 16 days
Date of murder: Oct. 2, 1998
Victim: Gregory Witman, 13
Relationship: Brother
Method of murder: Sharp force trauma
Witman stabbed and slashed his brother to death in their parent's New Freedom home during an argument.
Jury verdict: Guilty of first-degree murder, May 21, 2003
Sentence: Life without parole
Resentenced: Feb. 8, 2018 (Witman's conviction was overturned due to ineffective counsel. Granted a new trial, he pleaded guilty to third-degree murder.)
New sentence: 15 years, 230 days to 40 years
Parole: Eligible for parole Jan. 3, 2019 at age 35

Kwilson Coleman

Story:Teen gets life for 2008 murder

DOB: March 10, 1991
Age at murder: 17 years, eight months and 17 days
Date of murder: Nov. 27, 2008
Victim: Greg Wright, 20
Relationship: Rival
Method of murder: Shooting
Coleman shot Wright in the leg, knocking him to the ground and then fired four more shots into him.
Jury verdict: Guilty of first-degree murder, Oct. 7, 2009
Sentence: Life without parole
Current status: Pending retrial