HARRISBURG, Pa. — A Pennsylvania House committee voted Tuesday to advance two bipartisan bills that would eliminate the death penalty in the commonwealth and replace existing death sentences with life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
The Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee approved House Bills 99 and 888 in a 14-12 vote on Tuesday. Both pieces of legislation, introduced by Rep. Chriss Rabb, D-Philadelphia, and Rep. Russ Diamond, R-Lebanon, respectively, aim to formally end capital punishment in Pennsylvania.
Supporters of the capital punishment repeal bills in the House said they reflect growing bipartisan concern among lawmakers regarding capital punishment.
While capital punishment is technically allowed under Pennsylvania law, no executions have taken place in the commonwealth since 1999, and a moratorium on executions has been in effect since around 2010.
At least 13 people sentenced to death have since been exonerated in Pennsylvania, including Daniel Gwyn, who spent nearly 30 years on death row before his conviction was overturned. Supporters of abolition say such cases highlight the risks of resuming executions.
On Tuesday, Rep. Rabb cited the risk of wrongly executing someone and the danger such a policy poses, even if mistakes can be avoided, as one of his reasons for seeking to end capital punishment. “The death penalty is not justice,” he said.
Democratic co-sponsor Rep. Diamond cited moral considerations against executing anyone as justification for supporting the bill. “I believe in the sanctity of all life,” Diamond said.
Civil rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, Amnesty International and the Atlantic Center for Capital Representation, testified before the Judiciary Committee in favor of the abolition bills.
Veronica Miller, deputy legislative director for the ACLU of Pennsylvania, said the continued existence of the death penalty demonstrates deep-seated inequalities present in the commonwealth’s criminal legal system.
“It’s not just a punishment,” Miller said. “It’s a legacy of racial violence that continues to shape who lives and who dies in this country.”
Miller and other proponents of the bill argue that the death penalty adds additional stress to an already strained public defender system because of the complexity of capital cases.
Francis Harvey, interim executive director of the Atlantic Center for Capital Representation, said the death penalty disproportionately affects people with serious psychological conditions or financial limitations that prevent them from mounting adequate defenses.
“Death sentences in the commonwealth are reserved not for the worst of the worst,” Harvey said. “But for the poorest of the poor.”
One of the major factors in bipartisan opposition to capital punishment has been the potential for wrongful convictions in capital cases that have led to the execution of innocent people.
Supporters of abolishing the death penalty included testimony from exonerated prisoner Jimmy Dennis, who spent nearly 25 years on death row before being released based on evidence of his innocence that had been withheld by law enforcement.
Not all lawmakers favored repeal of capital punishment. Rep. Tim Bonner, a Republican and former prosecutor, said capital punishment must remain an option in cases involving the most serious crimes, such as terrorism and mass murder.
According to available data, about 103 people remain on Pennsylvania’s death row despite the fact that no executions have been carried out for decades due to appeals, exonerations and political decisions regarding the moratorium.
Additionally, a recent Susquehanna Polling and Research survey found that 58% of likely voters prefer life imprisonment over capital punishment for murder, while only 29% support the death penalty. Supporters of abolition said these trends reflect changing attitudes across the country.
Over the last two decades, multiple states have repealed the death penalty entirely or significantly limited its use. Meanwhile, many other states have placed capital punishment under indefinite moratoriums, and supporters of similar legislation in Pennsylvania say they reflect growing opposition to the practice.
If the bill becomes law, it will eliminate capital punishment in Pennsylvania by requiring those sentenced to death to be resentenced to life imprisonment without parole. The legislation has yet to pass the Pennsylvania Senate, which is currently controlled by Republicans.
If repeal efforts succeed, Pennsylvania will join a growing number of states that have abandoned capital punishment, though future lawmakers could revisit whether to reintroduce it.
Follow the Vanguard on Social Media – X, Instagram and Facebook. Subscribe the Vanguard News letters. To make a tax-deductible donation, please visit davisvanguard.org/donate or give directly through ActBlue. Your support will ensure that the vital work of the Vanguard continues.
