SR6 is going to the Senate!
December 7, 2011
I am so happy to tell you that SR6 is being reported as amended (an addition was made to include the Penn State University Justice Center as they are already study the death penalty in PA) to the Senate for a vote and you all deserve a great round of congratulations. Each one of our targeted Senators, Farnese, Hughes, and Stack, voted for the study- you can see the official vote count here: PA Senate Vote on SR6
There is much more to do and we have worked so hard already, so let us enjoy this victory. I look forward to seeing you all on December 13th so we may celebrate together.
Pennsylvania May Decide to Study Death Penalty
December 5, 2011
With the recent moratorium placed on the death penalty in Oregon by Governor John Fitzhaber, after inmate Gary Haugen volunteered to forego any further appeals and even went so far as to tell The Statesman’s Journal that he planned to challenge the temporary reprieve, issues with the death penalty in America are in the spotlight. Haugen states his reasoning for this action in the interview, the same reasoning as during his refusal of further appeals, calling the floundering on whether or not to execute him (he’s prepared for his execution twice now) “cruel and unusual punishment.”
Pennsylvania’s death row has a similar situation, also mentioned in the resolution, where three death sentences have been carried out since its reinstatement in 1978 but there have been 352 people sentenced to death in the state in that time. Not mentioned in the resolution, 6 people have been exonerated from death row, twice as many as have been executed, in PA during the same time period.
to read SR6 visit : http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billinfo/billinfo.cfm?syear=2011&sind=0&body=S&type=R&BN=0006
for more information about the American Bar Association’s findings on PA’s death penalty visit : http://www.abanow.org/2007/10/study-pennsylvania-needs-death-penalty-reforms/?audio