HARRISBURG, DECEMBER 15, 2011 – Sen. Daylin Leach (D-Delaware/Montgomery) announced that the state Senate yesterday adopted S.R. 6, a measure that would create a bipartisan task force and advisory committee to study the capital punishment system in Pennsylvania.
Leach, who previously drafted legislation that would repeal the death penalty, expressed satisfaction with the Senate resolution’s adoption.
“It’s important to remember that the death penalty is a state program which, like all other programs, we must continually re-evaluate,” Leach said. “Is it cost effective? Is it reliable? Does it accomplish its intended goals? These are all things that we need to examine, and I’m glad that my colleague Sen. Greenleaf offered a resolution to do so.”
The task force will be comprised of four appointed senators and the advisory committee will consist of 30 members who have expertise in the state’s criminal justice system. To complete the study, the task force and advisory committee will receive assistance from the Justice Center for Research at Penn State, the Pennsylvania Interbranch Commission on Gender, Racial and Ethnic Fairness and the Pennsylvania Joint State Government Commission.
The study will address issues that could impact the effectiveness of the capital punishment system including cost, bias and unfairness, proportionality of crime to sentence, impact on and services for family members, mental illness and mental retardation, fairness of juries, the quality of counsel provided to capital defendants, alternatives, public opinion and other concerns.
Leach noted that in 2007, the American Bar Association of Pennsylvania reported that Pennsylvania’s capital punishment system is racially and economically biased and runs the risk of executing innocent people.
“Simply put, we can’t unequivocally support a program that has the potential to ruin innocent lives while costing the state millions of dollars,” Leach said. “Philosophical beliefs about the death penalty aside, we must recognize the deadly risks involved and determine whether the use of capital punishment should be repealed in the Commonwealth. I eagerly anticipate the study’s findings so that we can move forward with appropriate and effective policy changes as necessary.”
The task force and advisory committee plan to hold public hearings to receive testimony and feedback about the subjects of the study, and will report their findings and recommendations to the Senate within two years.
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