Gov. Wolf: Keep the progress alive on death penalty reform

Gov. Wolf has cleared the path toward progressive death penalty reform. 

Pennsylvania has executed only three prisoners on death row since 1976, when the Supreme Court of the United States reinstated the death penalty. Yet, it was not until the middle of February this year that Wolf halted executions as result of a death penalty moratorium, or, a temporary prohibition.

In 2012, Pennsylvania announced that it purchased lethal injection drugs from compounding pharmacies — pharmacies that mix, combine or alter various drugs. Compounding pharmacies can remove components of drugs to prevent allergic reactions. The danger of compounded drugs, however, is that the Pharmacy Compounding Accreditation Board does not require accreditation or quality testing of compounded drugs. In addition, the buyer does not know the contents of compound drugs for security purposes. 

Mainly because of the European-led pharmaceutical embargo, American manufacturers now lack the resources necessary to create the lethal injection drug that European drug companies previously supplied. For example, States use two of the drugs European countries exported to the U.S. — pentobarbital and sodium thiopental — in the vast majority of executions in the United States. Now, in some cases, states have delayed executions because of the inaccessibility of the combination of chemicals.

Just a few months ago, Wolf’s predecessor, Tom Corbett, signed 48 death warrants for Pennsylvania inmates. Terrence Williams is one example of a detainee who Wolf’s moratorium kept from execution. The commonwealth scheduled his execution for 2012, but a series of trials pushed it back.

Wolf’s election victory over Corbett granted Williams an extension. Philadelphia District Attorney, Rufus Seth Williams, has expressed his opposition to the moratorium, saying it is “flagrantly unconstitutional.” 

Some families of victims, however, say otherwise.

Terrence Williams murdered Herbert Hamilton and Amos Norwood in 1984. The Patriot News published a letter written by Norwood’s wife, Mamie Norwood, in which she urges lawmakers to “stop trying to execute Terry Williams.”

She has since “forgiven” Terrence Williams for his crime. She concluded her letter by saying “don’t use me for your own political gain,” referring to R. Seth Williams’ comments. 

Other family members of other victims have also come forward with similar words in the recent past. 

In Texas in 1983, Karla Faye Tucker killed Ronald Carlson’s sister, Deborah Thornton. Tucker’s execution did not take place until 1998, and Carlson said the execution left him with “emptiness,” and that he realized it “only continues the violence.”

We must also then ask: On what basis does the U.S. government assume that all victims’ families find closure through trials and execution?

Since December 2012, the United Nations General Assembly has also imposed a moratorium on the death penalty. Only 41 nations opposed the moratorium, while 111 agreed, with 34 abstentions. As evident, there is a growing trend toward complete abolition of the death penalty.

When death is on the line, it is crucial that all facts are clear and that there can be no doubt before prosecution. Before the DNA testing era, states wrongfully carried out executions of innocent people. Even with modern technology, the evidence does not necessarily point in one direction. There may simply be a lack of evidence or a spotty witness testimony that leaves room for multidimensional verdicts when they should ideally be linear.

Wolf has taken a step forward for Pennsylvania, but we must do more to remove the death penalty from our justice system. It’s time for executions in Pennsylvania to cease permanently, not just temporarily.  Wolf has realized the latter. Let’s hope he can execute the former.  

Write to Alex at aet28@pitt.edu.