In Pennsylvania, there are currently 94 inmates on death row, but the state has not executed anyone since the 1990s due to a moratorium instituted by former governor Tom Wolf in 2015. Governor Josh Shapiro has announced that he will continue this moratorium and has called for the general assembly to repeal the death penalty.
Recently, a Somerset County jury sentenced Paul Kendrick to death row for the 2018 murder of SCI Somerset Corrections Officer Sgt. Mark Baserman. Somerset County District Attorney Molly Metzgar commended the jury for their decision and emphasized the need for the administration to reconsider the death penalty.
The moratorium grants reprieves to each death row prisoner who does not receive a stay of execution from the courts. In light of this, a proposed bill in Pennsylvania, House Bill 888, aims to remove the death penalty as an option in the state in favor of life without the possibility of parole for first-degree murder convictions.
Marc Bookman, the executive director of the Atlantic Center for Capital Representation, stated that the number of death row inmates is steadily declining in Pennsylvania, highlighting that the death penalty is becoming outdated and unnecessary. He also mentioned that the common misconceptions surrounding the death penalty, such as it being cheaper or people getting released from life without parole sentences, are not accurate.
The last execution in Pennsylvania took place in 1999, and Bookman emphasized that the trend of declining death sentences and executions is likely to continue. He believes that it is time to end the costly practice of pursuing death penalty cases when the chances of executions are diminishing.
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