THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE RESOLUTION

INTRODUCED BY WATERS, BROWN, JOHNSON, PARKER, PRESTON, BISHOP, CALTAGIRONE, COHEN, D. COSTA, CREIGHTON, CUTLER, FABRIZIO, GERBER, HARKINS, MELIO, SABATINA, SIPTROTH, J. TAYLOR, VITALI, WHEATLEY AND YOUNGBLOOD, MARCH 23, 2010

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, MARCH 23, 2010  

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Directing the Joint State Government Commission to establish a

bipartisan legislative task force and an advisory committee

to conduct a study of capital punishment in Pennsylvania and

to report its findings and recommendations to the General

Assembly.

WHEREAS, Since 1978, 352 people have been sentenced to death

in Pennsylvania, but only three people have been executed; and

WHEREAS, Each of the three people executed waived the right

to appeal; and

WHEREAS, As of February 1, 2010, there were 220 existing

capital sentences; and

WHEREAS, Family members of a murder victim struggle to cope

with the loss of their loved one and need services from the

Commonwealth in order to manage that loss; and

WHEREAS, The financial costs of attempting to implement the

death penalty during a national economic crisis may place a

burden on the Commonwealth that is not proportionate to what the

citizens of Pennsylvania are receiving in return; and

WHEREAS, The American Bar Association has identified several

areas in which Pennsylvania's death penalty system falters in

guaranteeing each capital defendant fairness and accuracy in all

proceedings; and

WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania Supreme Court Committee on Racial

and Gender Bias in the Justice System has determined that racial

biases exist, and that those biases significantly affect the way

parties, witnesses, litigants, lawyers, court employees and

potential jurors are treated; and

WHEREAS, The public is increasingly concerned about

individuals who are wrongly convicted of murder across the

nation and in this Commonwealth; and

WHEREAS, Postconviction DNA testing has shown that there are

wrongful convictions in Pennsylvania, even in capital cases;

therefore be it

RESOLVED (the Senate concurring), That the General Assembly

direct the Joint State Government Commission to establish a

bipartisan legislative task force of four members of the Senate

and four members of the House of Representatives to conduct a

study of capital punishment in Pennsylvania; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the President pro tempore of the Senate and

the Speaker of the House of Representatives each appoint two

members of the task force and the Minority Leader of the Senate

and the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives each

appoint two members; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Joint State Government Commission oversee

the creation of an advisory committee to assist the task force

in its study and recommendations; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the advisory committee shall consist of the

following members who shall be likely to make useful and

insightful contributions, including:

(1)  Two members of the religious, academic or ethical

communities.

(2)  One member or former member of the judiciary,

appointed by the Chief Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme

Court.

(3)  The Attorney General or his designee.

(4)  One prosecutor, appointed by The Pennsylvania

District Attorneys Association.

(5)  One criminal defense attorney who has handled death

penalty cases, to be appointed by the Pennsylvania

Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

(6)  One member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association,

appointed by the President of the Pennsylvania Bar

Association.

(7)  The Secretary of Corrections or his designee.

(8)  Two family members of murder victims, one of whom is

appointed by the Office of Victim Advocate and one of whom is

appointed by Murder Victims' Families for Reconciliation.

(9)  The president of the Pennsylvania Innocence Project

or his designee.

(10)  One criminologist, to be appointed by the President

of The Pennsylvania State University.

(11)  One member appointed by a civil rights

organization.

(12)  One member appointed by each member of the

legislative task force, for a total of eight legislative

appointees;

and be it further

RESOLVED, That the task force, with the assistance of the

advisory committee, shall:

(1)  Review other recent studies of the death penalty

from around the country.

(2)  Review other recent studies pertaining to the death

penalty system or its subsystems in Pennsylvania.

(3)  Undertake a comprehensive analysis of the State's

death penalty system to determine what policy

recommendations, if any, would guarantee that, in its

application and administration, capital punishment in this

Commonwealth is free from bias and error;

and be it further

RESOLVED, That the task force, with the assistance of the

advisory committee, shall review every stage of the capital

process, including pretrial procedures, jury selection, defense,

prosecution, trial procedures, postconviction appeals and

clemency procedures, and shall make findings and public policy

recommendations in each of the following areas, including, but

not limited to:

(1)  The risk of innocent people being sentenced to death

or executed. Where a wrongful conviction occurred in a

capital case or case that resulted in a long or a life

sentence in this Commonwealth, the task force shall also look

at the factors and characteristics of these cases and

determine additional areas of study or policy change

necessary.

(2)  Whether the selection of defendants for capital

trials is arbitrary, unfair or discriminatory in any way,

looking specifically at race, geography and socioeconomic

background and any other relevant characteristics of both the

defendants and victims.

(3)  Whether there is unfair, arbitrary or discriminatory

variability in the sentencing phase or at any stage of the

process. In determining the presence of unfair bias, the task

force shall review not only death penalty cases, but also

death-eligible cases where the death penalty was not sought.

(4)  Whether there is a significant difference in the

crimes selected for the death penalty as opposed to life in

prison.

(5)  The services that exist in this Commonwealth for

family members and loved ones of murder victims, whether

these services are sufficient, whether additional services

are provided in other states, whether additional services

should be provided in this Commonwealth and whether victims'

rights and services are provided on an equal basis to all

surviving family members regardless of their support for,

opposition to or neutrality on the death penalty.

(6)  The cost of the death penalty system, taking into

account all expenses from indictment to execution, as

compared to the cost of life in prison. In considering the

overall cost of the death penalty, the cost of capital trials

that result in life sentences, as well as the death sentences

that are reversed on appeal, shall be factored into the

equation.

(7)  Changes to the death penalty, if any, that would

ensure a system that is fairly administered and consistently

applied, free from impermissible racial, ethnic or geographic

bias and that would prevent the innocent from being sentenced

to death and execution.

(8)  Whether the law provides adequate protections for

specific vulnerable populations such as persons with mental

retardation in accordance with the United States Supreme

Court ruling in Atkins v. Virginia, 536 U.S. 304, 122 S.Ct.

2242, and persons with mental illness.

(9)  Whether the death penalty rationally serves a

legitimate penological interest, such as deterrence;

and be it further

RESOLVED, That the task force may propose new legislation, if

necessary and appropriate; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the task force shall be convened by the

legislative member with the most years of continuous service in

the General Assembly and, at its organizational meeting, shall

elect from among its legislative membership, a chair, vice-

chairperson, vice chairperson and such other officers the task

force may deem necessary; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the advisory committee shall choose a

chairperson from among its members; and be it further

RESOLVED, That members of the task force and advisory

committee shall serve without compensation but may be reimbursed

for necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their

duties, within the limits of funds appropriated or otherwise

made available to the task force and advisory committee for

their purposes. All members of the task force or advisory

committee who are duly elected members of the General Assembly

shall remain members of the task force or advisory committee

until they report their findings and recommendations to the

General Assembly; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the task force and advisory committee shall

hold public hearings and may meet in closed executive session to

make their final deliberations; and be it further

RESOLVED, That all State, county and municipal agencies,

departments, boards, bureaus and commissions shall cooperate

fully with the task force and advisory committee; and be it

further

RESOLVED, That the task force and advisory committee shall

report their findings and recommendations to the General

Assembly no later than two years after the date this resolution

is adopted in both houses.