STROUDSBURG – Michael Parrish was formally sentenced to die, for killing his girlfriend and their young son, two years ago.  The judge in Monroe County Court was obligated to impose the sentence ordered by the jury that convicted him of the murders in April.

Under Pennsylvania law, an appeal in a capital punishment case is mandatory, so it is likely that it would be years before Parrish actually is given lethal injection.

Pennsylvania’s last execution was in 1999.  More than 200 inmates currently sit on death row. 

Parrish has never denied shooting Victoria Adams and their two-year-old son Sydney, at a home they shared in near Effort.  The issue considered at trial was the degree of the crime.  Defense attorneys argued it was a crime of passion.  The jury, however, convicted Parrish of first degree murder.