Following a hearing on Friday lifting the stay on his resentence, a former Butler man, who has spent the last 19 years in prison on a homicide conviction he received as a teenager, may see his prison sentence shortened.

Nicholas A. White, now 36, was 17 when he was charged in the July 31, 1998, shooting death of his father, Robert Grant White, 43, at their home along Route 356. He was charged as an adult, and in 1999 was found guilty of first-degree homicide and misdemeanor abuse of a corpse. He was sentenced to life in prison.

Two decisions by the United States Supreme Court — in 2012 that such life sentences for teenage offenders was unconstitutional and a 2016 decision that the ban must be applied retroactively — triggered new sentencing hearings and parole for inmates across the country, including White.

White is one of 517 Pennsylvania offenders sentenced to life without parole for crimes committed as juveniles whose cases are being revisited because of the rulings, according to The Associated Press.

During Friday's hearing on the motion to lift the stay on resentencing, White's attorney, Leland Clark, said both sides of the case are ready to proceed.

Gregory Simatic, prosecutor for the Attorney General's Office, said the state is not seeking a resentence of life without parole in this case.

“For all intents and purposes life without parole is no longer an option for this type of defendant, and therefore the state would not be seeking it in this matter,” he said.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court determined that such cases require proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is an unusual example of someone who can never be rehabilitated.

Clark also informed the court of a decision by the Superior Court of the Western District of Pennsylvania, filed Monday in Allegheny County, that determined the maximum sentence in these cases must still be life in prison, but the minimum upon resentence is up to the sentencing judge.

County Judge William Shaffer said a resentencing hearing will be scheduled.

As of the beginning of August, judges have resentenced more than 100 inmates, many now in their 50s and 60s, according to The Associated Press. Fifty-eight Pennsylvania inmates have been released and five have been denied parole, while two inmates were resentenced to life without parole, allowed by the Supreme Court in rare cases when offenders' crimes reflect “permanent incorrigibility.”

Police said White shot his father with a hunting rifle before bludgeoning him with the weapon. After the incident he then solicited the help of two friends to dispose of the body. Police said he committed the crime because his father had threatened to sell his Chevrolet Camaro as punishment for staying out too late.