information critical to a judgment on the morality of the
death penalty...if they were better informed they would
consider it shocking, unjust, and unacceptable."
--United States Supreme Court Justice Thurgood
Marshall, in Furman v. Georgia (1972)
Is there anything more frightening than facing execution for a crime you did
not commit? Since 1986, six people have been exonerated after spending
time on death row in Pennsylvania. Neil Ferber (exonerated in 1986), Jay
Smith (1992), William Nieves (2000), Thomas Kimbell, Jr. (2002), Nick
Yarris (2004), and Harold Wilson (2005) all lost many years of their lives and
faced the horrendous prospect of wrongful execution. Fred Thomas died in
2002 before having his day in court after winning a retrial. Another innocent
Pennsylvanian, Ray Krone, faced the same fate in Arizona before DNA
evidence proved his innocence in 2002. Without question, there are more
innocents among the 200+ current residents of PA's death row.
The case of William Nieves (PDF)
The case of Jay Smith (PDF)
The case of Fred Thomas (Link)
The case of Harold Wilson (Link)
Race matters. Pennsylvania's death row looks like it is straight out of
apartheid-era South Africa. Nearly 70 percent of those sentenced to death in
the Commonwealth are minorities. That is the second-highest death row
minority rate in the country, behind only Louisiana, and is nearly 15
percentage points higher than the national rate. An unbelievable 84 percent
of those sentenced to death in Philadelphia are African-American.
Money matters. Approximately 90 percent of the state's condemned were
too poor to afford an attorney at trial and were left with whatever defense the
state provided for them. In addition, Pennsylvania provides no funding for
appeals by indigent defendants. Ineffective assistance of counsel is the
number one reason why death sentences and convictions are overturned by
appeals courts.
Money matters, too. No comprehensive study has been done to examine
the cost of the death penalty in Pennsylvania. In states where such studies
have been conducted, capital punishment is always more expensive than
even life without parole. A report in New Jersey in 2005 found that the state
had spent $250 million for a death penalty institution that had produced no
executions and just 10 death row prisoners.
PA Supreme Court committee recommended a moratorium on
executions. In March, 2003, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Committee
on Racial and Gender Bias in the Criminal Justice System published a
report that recommended a moratorium on executions. The committee,
which was composed of prosecutors, defense attorneys, a judge, a police
officer, and an investigator, raised concerns about bias against minorities
and the poor in its report. The governor and legislature have yet to act on
this recommendation.
Summary of PA Supreme Court Committee report (PDF)
The evidence is in. The facts are clear. The time has come
to shut down the death penalty in Pennsylvania!
to Abolish the Death Penalty
315 Peffer Street
Harrisburg, PA 17102
717-919-1177
E-mail CPADP
