Professor charged with wife’s murder will not face death penalty

A Pitt researcher charged with killing his wife last April will not face the death penalty.

The office of Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala announced on Monday that the requirements for capital punishment were not found in the case.

Mike Manko, a spokesman for Zappala’s office, stated that in “this case there was no option because the case did not qualify as a death penalty case.”

Robert A. Ferrante, 65, a professor who’s currently on indefinite leave in Pitt’s neurology department was arrested late last July and charged with the murder of his late wife, Autumn Klein.

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, the death penalty may only be applied in cases of first-degree murder. A separate hearing is held to determine if any aggravating or mitigating circumstances occurred.

Pennsylvania law’s aggravating circumstances include cases where the victim was a public servant (e.g., firefighter, judge or law enforcement official), where the victim was held for ransom or as a hostage, where the victim was a prosecution witness to a felony committed by the defendant and was killed to prevent testimony, where the victim was killed by means of torture and where the victim was killed as part of a murder for pay.

If an aggravating circumstance is found, the verdict is death. A judge will then formally sentence the defendant. The state Supreme Court will automatically review a case after sentencing, and may choose to strike the death penalty for a life sentence.

Formal arraignment of Ferrante is scheduled to occur this week.