Pennsylvania Death Penalty—Largely Ignored in Criminal Justice Reform Efforts

Pennsylvania Capital-Star

There’s been a lot of important talk — and action — around the Capitol this year on criminal justice reform.

It’s a cause that’s united fiscal conservatives concerned about runaway prison spending; people of faith who believe in the power of redemption and second chances, and social justice reformers who see a system that’s riven by racial and economic bias.

But as much as reformers have shined a badly needed light on probation reform, death by incarceration and the need for a sane and productive pardons system, one topic has remained largely undiscussed. And that’s Pennsylvania’s badly broken, hugely expensive, and entirely ineffective death penalty law.

A tweet Wednesday by Rob Dunham, the former Philadelphia federal defender who now heads the Death Penalty Information Center, reminds us again of the need for lawmakers to jump start the conversation around finally abolishing Pennsylvania’s death penalty.

First, the tweet, then the basis for the argument for abolition.

First up, a few key points: Pennsylvania hasn’t executed anyone since 1999, with the lethal injection of Philadelphia torture-killer Gary Heidnik in Philadelphia. In the last half-century, the state has executed just three people, including Heidnik, all of whom voluntarily waived their appeals.

Shortly after taking office in 2015, Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf imposed a moratorium on executions that remains in place to this day.

Despite that moratorium, prosecutors have continued to pursue capital convictions and the Department of Corrections, constrained by state law, continues to authorize execution warrants that most likely will never be carried out.

Read more at https://www.penncapital-star.com/commentary/more-and-more-states-are-moving-away-from-the-death-penalty-whats-pa-s-excuse-thursday-morning-coffee/.