Governor Wolf's Moratorium On Death Penalty Continues To Draw Reaction
By Kim Glovas
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Critics and supporters continue to weigh in on Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf's moratorium on the death penalty in the state.
The Pennsylvania Prison Society is praising the governor for the moratorium. Executive director Ann Schwartzman says those men and women on death row right now may not have had the benefit of DNA testing, because of the age of the cases.
"We need a system that is more direct," she says, "that we know coincides with the science now, that looks at DNA. We need to make a system that we can feel assured is correct."
Schwartzman says six people who were on death row in Pennsylvania have been cleared of the crimes. She says only three people have been sentenced to death in Pennsylvania in 40 years, and the cost of those cases was $350-million.
"It's too costly," she says, "and it really doesn't serve the victims well either."
Others who have weighed in on the case include the Philadelphia District Attorney who has condemned Wolf's decision and the Philadelphia Archdiocese which has praised it.
