PENNSYLVANIA — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has issued a reprieve for long-standing death row prisoner Richard Roland Laird, extending the Commonwealth’s execution moratorium and reinforcing his administration’s opposition to capital punishment, according to a recent news release from the Death Penalty Information Center.
According to the release, Shapiro granted the reprieve on Dec. 5, 2025, the same day the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections issued a notice scheduling Laird’s execution for Jan. 2, 2026.
The Death Penalty Information Center noted that Shapiro’s action reaffirmed a commitment he made when he took office to pause executions in the state and urge lawmakers to abolish capital punishment in Pennsylvania entirely.
“The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania should not be in the business of executing people,” Shapiro said in a statement cited by the organization, emphasizing his view that the death penalty system is “inherently fallible and its consequences are irreversible.”
Laird has been on death row for more than three decades following his conviction in the 1987 murder of artist Anthony Milano in Bucks County. In a Philadelphia Gay News report on the case, the outlet reported that “Laird, who’s been on death row for 37 years for Milano’s murder, maintains that jurors during his 2007 retrial would have spared his life if they knew the full extent of his childhood sexual abuse.”
The Death Penalty Information Center release explained that under Pennsylvania law, when a governor declines to sign a death warrant, the Department of Corrections is required to issue a notice of execution, a procedural step that occurred in Laird’s case before the reprieve was granted.
The release highlighted data from the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections showing that, since 1985, Pennsylvania has issued 482 death warrants or notices, but only three have resulted in executions.
The DPIC also placed the reprieve within broader legislative efforts to end capital punishment in Pennsylvania. The release referenced House Bill 888, introduced during the 2025–26 legislative session, which would replace the death penalty with life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. The organization noted that the bill has attracted bipartisan support, reflecting shifting attitudes toward capital punishment statewide.
As lawmakers, advocates and families affected by violent crime continue to debate the future of the death penalty, the Death Penalty Information Center emphasized that Shapiro’s reprieve for Laird represents a significant reaffirmation of Pennsylvania’s execution moratorium and a pivotal moment in the state’s ongoing reconsideration of capital punishment.
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