Crews’ appeals

Between May 1991 and December 2006, Crews made several appeals to the state Supreme Court, the U.S. Third Circuit Court, and U.S. District Court. The Perry County prosecutors decided that they would stop fighting appeals related to Crews’ case. Then on December 26, 2006, Crews’ sentence was reduced to two life sentences without parole in state prison, an agreement reached between Perry County prosecutors and Crews’ attorneys.

A risk not worth taking

The agreement was reached because the prosecution believed that fighting Crews’ appeals would cost Perry County- a very small county – a substantial amount of money. They also believed that fighting the appeals was risky because then the case could be taken to an entirely new trial. It was a risk they were not willing to take.