Pennsylvania governor imposes moratorium on death penalty

HARRISBURG, Pa. – Newly elected Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf imposed a moratorium on the death penalty in the state Friday, calling the current system of capital punishment “error prone, expensive and anything but infallible.”

The Democrat said the moratorium will remain in effect at least until he receives a report from a legislative commission that has been studying the topic for about four years.

Wolf announced the policy less than a month after taking office, fulfilling a campaign promise.

“I want to give this joint bipartisan commission on the death penalty the ability to come up with their report,” Wolf told reporters at a public appearance Friday evening in Harrisburg. “Is it cost effective? Are we doing the right thing? Is it fair? Is it effective as a deterrent?”

Pennsylvania has executed only three people since the U.S. Supreme Court restored the death penalty in 1976. All three had voluntarily given up their appeals.

Law enforcement groups and Republican lawmakers responded quickly and forcefully with criticism of the move.

The Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association said Wolf had no authority to impose the moratorium and called it a misuse of the concept of a reprieve.

“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 association said.

A legal challenge in response was likely, an association spokeswoman said.

The president of the Pennsylvania State Troopers Association called the decision a sad day for the state and noted that Eric Frein, accused in the ambush killing of state police Cpl. Bryon Dickson in the Pocono Mountains last year, would have faced a potential death sentence if convicted.

Pennsylvania’s death row, which has been shrinking, houses 183 men and three women. The most recent execution was in 1999.