HR143 – Testimony in front of the House Judiciary Committee 2015
Statement of Sister Mary Denise Clifford, SSJ
I support the Statement on Governor Wolfs Announcement of Death Penalty Reprieve by
Bishop Ronald Gainer and the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference. The Catholic Bishops of
Pennsylvania have advocated for an end to the death penalty for a long time…
Statement of Sister Colleen, Dauerbach
My name is Sister Colleen Dauerbach and I am a Sister of Saint Joseph from Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. I serve in the Social Justice Ministry for our Congregation and I network with those
who live and work in the State of Pennsylvania as well as with those working for Peace and Justice
Nationally and Internationally…
Statement of Robert Dunham, Death Penalty Information Center
Good morning. I am Robert Dunham, Executive Director of the Death Penalty Information Center (“DPIC”). On behalf of DPIC, I would like to thank you, Chairman Marsico, and the entire House Judiciary Committee for the opportunity to testify concerning Pennsylvania’s death penalty and concerning Governor Wolfs use of the reprieve power to impose a moratorium on executions in the Commonwealth.
Statement of Steve Honeyman, Witness to Innocence
My name is Steve Honeyman, and I am the Interim Executive Director of Witness to Innocence, the only national organization in the United States composed of and led by exonerated death row survivors and their family members…
Statement of Terence Inch, York College of Pennsylvania
I intend to confine my evidence to some of the broader issues although I have statistical and research information with me to support the other relevant issues…
Statement of Kathleen Lucas, Pennsylvanians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty
Thank you for this opportunity to address the House Judiciary Committee on the crucial decision to pause executions while the bipartisan study commission completes its work. As you have heard, this is an area where reasonable people can and do disagree…
Statement of Rev. Amy Reumann, Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania
Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania (LAMPa) offers this testimony in support of a moratorium on the death penalty in Pennsylvania. LAMPa is the state public policy office of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), with 1300 congregations in the Commonwealth….
Statement of Sister Catherine Robinson, SSJ
In unity with Pope Francis and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, I, as a Sister of Saint Joseph, reaffirm absolute respect and protection for every human life, from conception to natural death, even when one of those lives has been responsible for a heinous crime…
Statement of Sister Ann Marie Slavin, OSF
In 1999 the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia took a Corporate Stand against the death penalty which reads: “We, Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, following in the footprints of the nonviolent Jesus and the peacemaking tradition of Francis of Assisi, join Pope John Paul II, the Catholic bishops, and many others in calling for an end to the death penalty.”
Statement of Marc Bookman, Atlantic Center for Capital Represntation
The Atlantic Center for Capital Representation (ACCR) welcomes this opportunity to testify about the death penalty in Pennsylvania. ACCR is a non-profit organization that provides consultation with defense teams in Pennsylvania, conducts conferences and trainings to improve the quality of defense counsel, and does systemic and individual litigation to address unfairness in the delegation of time or resources for death penalty defense. ACCR has been in existence since July 1, 2010…
Statement of David Rose, Law Enforcement Professional
My name is David Rose, and I am retired from the New Jersey Department of Corrections after a career in corrections that started after I graduated from Florida State University with a degree in Criminology back in 1974. My first job in corrections was as a Correctional Counselor with the Florida Department of Corrections at the Tallahassee Community Correctional Center, a pre-release center for state sentenced inmates nearing the end of their period of incarceration…
Statement of Sandy Strauss, Pennsylvania Council of Churches
My name is Sandy Strauss, and I am the Director of Advocacy and Ecumenical Outreach for the Pennsylvania Council of Churches. As an organization made up of 42 member bodies representing 20 Protestant denominations, we represent thousands of persons of faith throughout the Commonwealth….
Statement of Andy Hoover, ACLU Pennsylvania
Dear Chairman Marsico and Chairman Petrarca,
Thank you for the opportunity to submit written testimony for the House Judiciary Committee’s hearing on the moratorium on executions in the Commonwealth, which the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania supports. I am submitting this statement on behalf of the 23,000 members of the ACLU of Pennsylvania….
Statement of David Scott, Retired Deputy Police Chief
As a retired Deputy Chief of the SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority) Police Department, I personally oppose capital punishment. The SEPTA Police Department is the 5th largest police department in Pennsylvania…
Statement of Vicki and Syl Schieber, Parents of Shannon Schieber
Dear Members of the Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee,
We were told that we would not be allowed to give testimony at the public hearing scheduled for today, Thursday, March 26, 2015 because our daughter’s murderer is not on death row, even though she was killed in Philadelphia.
We respectfully submit the following piece that was written for the Philadelphia Daily News on March 9, 2015 in place of giving testimony….
Statement of Neill Franklin, Retired Major
Dear Members of the Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee,
There is nothing more heartbreaking than losing a friend or loved one to homicide, and when that friend is a fellow police officer, the loss is even more pronounced, and it has a ripple effect across the community….
Statment of Rev. Sandra Strauss, Director of Advocacy and Ecumenical Outreach
My name is Sandy Strauss, and I am the Director of Advocacy and Ecumenical Outreach for the Pennsylvania Council of Churches. As an organization made up of 42 member bodies representing 20 Protestant denominations, we represent thousands of persons of faith throughout the Commonwealth…