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USA - Pennsylvania. House panel votes to abolish death penalty
October 31, 2023: OCTOBER 31, 2023 - House panel votes to abolish death penalty
By a mainly party line vote, the House Judiciary Committee approved legislation Tuesday to repeal Pennsylvania’s death penalty.
The Committee voted 15-10 in favor of House Bill 999 to abolish a death penalty law on the books since 1978.
The bill sponsor, Rep. Chris Raab, D-Philadelphia, said the death penalty deserves to be abolished for a number of reasons, including the number of death row inmates who have been exonerated of their crime in recent years, a record of the death penalty being applied in a discriminatory fashion and the cost of keeping inmates on death row for years.
Former Gov. Tom Wolf issued a moratorium on executions in 2015 which Gov. Josh Shapiro has continued. Data on the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections’ website shows 98 people on death row.
Gov. Josh Shapiro calling earlier this year for abolishment. The state has executed 3 people since 1976, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the death penalty. None has been carried out since 1999.
The bill now goes to the full House for a vote. The House’s next voting session is set for Nov. 13.
https://www.witf.org/2023/10/31/pa-moves-legislation-to-end-death-penalty/ (Source: WITF news, 31/10/2023)
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