HARRISBURG — Governor Tom Wolf announced Friday a moratorium on the death penalty in Pennsylvania that will remain in effect until a report by a senate created committee on the effectiveness of the death penalty is completed.
A bipartisan Pennsylvania Task Force and Advisory Commission on Capital Punishment was established by the state senate in 2011 to study the effectiveness of the death penalty.
Governor Wolf granted a temporary reprieve Friday to inmate Terrance Williams, who was scheduled to be executed on March 4, 2015 and said he will continue to do so for every future scheduled execution until the governor has received and reviewed the commission’s report.
“Today’s action comes after significant consideration and reflection,” said Governor Wolf. “This moratorium is in no way an expression of sympathy for the guilty on death row, all of whom have been convicted of committing heinous crimes. This decision is based on a flawed system that has been proven to be an endless cycle of court proceedings as well as ineffective, unjust, and expensive.”
Wolf went on to point out 150 people sentenced to death have been exonerated nationwide since capital punishment was reinstated, including six men in Pennsylvania.
The Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association (PDAA) issued a response that read in part:
Governor Tom Wolf’s action today granting Terrance Williams a reprieve and imposing a moratorium on the death penalty is a misuse of his power and ignores the law. He has rejected the decisions of juries that wrestled with the facts and the law before unanimously imposing the death penalty, disregarded a long line of decisions made by Pennsylvania and federal judges, ignored the will of the legislature, and ultimately turned his back on the silenced victims of cold-blooded killers.
The Pennsylvania State Troopers Association also responded, saying:
On Sept. 12, 2014, Eric Frein ambushed and assassinated Pennsylvania State Police Cpl. Bryon Dickson and seriously injured Trooper Alex Douglass. Prosecutors are rightly seeking the death penalty because the loved ones of Cpl. Dickson have lost a devoted husband, father and son. Pennsylvania lost a hero.
Gov. Wolf’s decision today is a travesty because it prevents the commonwealth and the family of Cpl. Dickson from securing the penalty that is deserved. This decision also will affect the families of victims from all across the state who have had their loved ones torn from them due to senseless acts of violence from dangerous criminals. This is a sad day for Pennsylvania.
