Governor Tom Wolf announced a moratorium on death penalty in Pennsylvania, which will remain in effect until he reviews a study of the effectiveness of capital punishment in the state.

“This moratorium is in no way an expression of sympathy for the guilty on death row, all of whom have been convicted of committing heinous crimes,” Wolf said. “This decision is based on a flawed system that has been proven to be an endless cycle of court proceedings as well as ineffective, unjust, and expensive”.

Currently 186 individuals are on death row in Pennsylvania, the state with the fifth largest death row in the nation. However, in nearly 40 years, the state has executed only three people. 

In that same period, governors have signed 434 death warrants. All but the three noted above have been stayed by a court. 

“This unending cycle of death warrants and appeals diverts resources from the judicial system and forces the families and loved ones of victims to relive their tragedies each time a new round of warrants and appeals commences,” Wolf said. “The only certainty in the current system is that the process will be drawn out, expensive, and painful for all involved.”

Wolf also noted that six men in Pennsylvania have been exonerated from death row while others have been resentenced to life in prison after reviewing courts found mitigating circumstances or flaws in the penalty phases of their trials. 

“If the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is going to take the irrevocable step of executing a human being, its capital sentencing system must be infallible,” Wolf said. “Pennsylvania’s system is riddled with flaws, making it error-prone, expensive, and anything but infallible.”

Additionally, Wolf cited reports by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and the American Bar Association about how minorities  are more likely to be charged with a capital offense and sentenced to death, particularly when the victim is caucasian.