Capital punishment in Pennsylvania
Capital punishment is legal in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania.
The execution chamber of the State of Pennsylvania is on the grounds of the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections State Correctional Institution – Rockview. Most male death row inmates are housed in State Correctional Institution – Greene- while some are housed at State Correctional Institution – Graterford. 80% of all Pennsylvania death row inmates are held at Greene.[1] Female death row inmates are housed in State Correctional Institution – Muncy.[2]
History
Until 1915, hanging was the common method of execution. 1915 saw the first use of the electric chair, even though it was approved by the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 1913. The delay was due to the time needed to finish the Western Penitentiary in Centre County, now the State Correctional Institution – Rockview. On November 29, 1990, Governor Casey changed the form of execution to lethal injection[3]
As of 2002, a total of 1,043 people have been executed in Pennsylvania since 1693,[4] the 3rd highest of any other state or commonwealth in the Union, after New York (1,130) and Virginia (1,361).[5]
As of 2015, 183 people were on Pennsylvania's death row.[6]
State constitutional provisions require a unanimous vote of the Pardons Board to permanently change any life or death sentence before the governor can commute it.[7]
In February, 2015, Governor Tom Wolf, announced a moratorium on the death penalty, suspending plans to execute Terrance Williams for a 1984 robbery and fatal tire-iron beating of another man in Philadelphia. Wolf called the current system error-prone and expensive, and announced plans to continue to issue reprieves while a legislative committee prepares a report about the state's use of capital punishment.[7]
Since 1976
Since the re-instatement of the death penalty by the Supreme Court in 1976, 3 individuals, all convicted of murder, have been executed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. All were executed by lethal injection, and in all three cases, they waived their appeals and asked that the execution be carried out.
| Executed person | Race | Date | Victim | Governor | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keith Zettlemoyer [8] | White | 2 May 1995 | Charles DeVetsco. | Tom Ridge |
| 2 | Leon Moser [9] | White | 15 August 1995 | Linda Moser, Donna Moser, and Joanne Moser. | |
| 3 | Gary M. Heidnik | White | 6 July 1999 | Deborah Dudley and Sandra Lindsay. |
See also
- Crime in Pennsylvania
- List of people executed in Pennsylvania
- List of wrongful convictions in the United States
- List of exonerated death row inmates
- List of death row inmates in the United States
References
- ↑ Murphy, Jan. "Q&A on the death penalty in Pa.: How does someone get put to death, more " (Archive). Pennlive.com. January 5, 2015. Retrieved on February 1, 2016.
- ↑ "Craigslist killer Miranda Barbour is one of 170 lifers at Muncy state prison" (Archive) Pennlive.com. October 30, 2014. Retrieved on February 14, 2016.
- ↑ http://www.cor.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/death_penalty/17351/history/607968
- ↑ http://deathpenaltyusa.org/usa1/state/pennsylvania1.htm
- ↑ http://deathpenalty.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=004087
- ↑ Facts about the Death Penalty
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Pennsylvania DAs take aim at Wolf's death penalty moratorium WTAE. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
- ↑ http://articles.philly.com/1995-05-03/news/25673982_1_keith-zettlemoyer-execution-warrant-pennsylvania-post-conviction-defender-organization
- ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/17/us/killer-of-his-ex-wife-and-2-daughters-is-executed.html
External links
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