'Facts of that day are overpowering': Juvenile lifer resentenced for 1987 fatal shooting
Pleading his case before Senior Judge Richard Lewis in the Lebanon County Courthouse Friday, Corey Hollinger apologized to the family of Albert Swalm.
Hollinger was 16 when he was sentenced on Nov. 25, 1987, to spend the rest of his life behind bars for murdering Albert Swalm on May of that year. Despite his mentorship with other inmates and working with various prison programs, Hollinger said he's aware that he doesn't deserve a second chance.
"I took a man's life," he said to Lewis. "All the good I've done, all the good I could do in the future will never bring back Mr. Swalm. Will never make up for what I did ... I'm not asking for what I deserve, I'm asking for you to show some grace and mercy."
Thirty-five years later, Hollinger was resentenced to life in prison for the shooting death of Swalm, with the possibility of parole in 50 years.
The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that prompted Hollinger's resentencing was made in January 2016 when its 2012 decision prohibiting sentencing juveniles to life was made retroactive. That ruling affected more than 2,000 inmates across the country, including 517 in Pennsylvania.
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Lebanon County District Attorney Pier Hess Graf said she discussed the sentencing with Swalm's family before asking for at least 50 years before the possibility of parole for Hollinger.
"I had discussed with them that nothing will ever be justice, nothing will ever make them feel whole again, but what could they live with?" she said. "Fifty years is what they could live with."
In his statement, Hollinger acknowledged that bringing the case up again is probably a source of pain and hurt for Swalm's family.
"I know they will probably hate me, and always will," he said. "I'm aware how weak and meaningless my words may be received by them, but all I can say is that I'm so, so very sorry."
In May 1987, Corey Hollinger escaped from a juvenile detention facility and returned to his home in Lebanon County. According to Lewis, a day or two later, Hollinger and his 14-year-old brother, Tracy, went on a "crime spree."
They committed two burglaries before the brothers reached the Swalm household, where they attempted to steal Albert Swalm's car.
"Albert allowed Corey and his brother into his home to use the phone," Lewis read from court documents Friday. "The brothers faked a call of some sort, then left the residence. The defendant and his brother returned to the residence a few minutes later, now firmly deciding that they needed to kill Albert in order to steal the car."
The 57-year-old Swalm was shot twice at his Union Township home with a .44-caliber that Hollinger had stolen from a nearby home. Swalm was shot while he sat drinking coffee in the kitchen of his Green Point home.
Lewis called Swalm's murder a "classic, premeditated killing."
"Albert was murdered because of an act of kindness, allowing a stranger into his home to use the telephone," he said. "A simple, considerate, neighborly act of kindness."
The Hollinger brothers stole Swalm's car but were apprehended near Suedberg in Pine Grove Township after a police chase.
Tracy Hollinger was also charged with Swalm's murder. He was sentenced to 12 to 60 years after pleading guilty. He was paroled from prison on June 26, 2001, according to court records.
The decision of Hollinger's resentencing was not an easy one to make, according to Lewis Friday. There was strong evidence pointing to Hollinger receiving life in prison, and facts showing he should be eligible for parole.
"The facts of that day of May 1987 are just overpowering, and I have to take them into account and give them weight as well," he said.
Matthew Toth is a reporter for the Lebanon Daily News. Reach him at mtoth@ldnews.com or on Twitter at @DAMattToth.
This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: Lebanon juvenile lifer gets resentenced for role in a 1987 shooting
