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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2013 - 2014
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | February 14, 2013 12:06 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Robert F. Matzie |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Race Discrimination in Sentencing in Capital Cases |
| In the near future, I will be reintroducing legislation to allow defendants in minority racial groups to introduce evidence of racial bias against them in capital cases. Several studies have shown that minorities have a much higher chance of being sentenced to death for capital crimes in Pennsylvania. To address racial disparities in sentencing in capital cases, my legislation would provide the opportunity for defendants to introduce evidence of racial discrimination. Defendants will have the chance to prove that race was a factor in either the prosecutor’s decision to seek the death penalty or the jury’s sentencing of the death penalty. The inclusion of this evidence would provide the opportunity for the defendant to receive a sentence of life without parole instead of a death sentence. This legislation would ensure that our criminal justice system is not sentencing someone to death based upon his/her race. Our criminal justice system should provide fair and equal treatment to every defendant in a capital case and this legislation provides the opportunity for defendants to eliminate racial inequities in their sentencing. |
Introduced as HB1004