(Un)Happy 100th Pennsylvania!
Pennsylvania, I'd like to wish you an Unhappy 100th. Yesterday, you reached a noteworthy milestone in your tireless quest to kill your citizens. David Ramtahal was resentenced to life without the possibility of parole AFTER being sentenced to death. He became just the...
"A grave miscarriage of justice"
Last week, after 21 years on Pennsylvania’s death row, James Dennis of Philadelphia finally had his moment of justice. Federal district court Judge Anita Brody ruled that the 1992 conviction of Dennis for the murder of Chedell Ray Williams was “a grave miscarriage...
Prosecutorial Misconduct in Philly… Again
District Attorney Seth Williams says he’s “upset and disgusted†at the Judge Anita Brody's ruling in Jimmy Dennis’s case.  He should be. His solution is to “appeal it to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals or just retry the case.†But he needs to go one...
Judge Orders the Release of Jimmy Dennis from Death Row
It looks like Jimmy Dennis may finally be freed. Today, Senior US District Judge Anita Brody overturned his conviction and ordered his release. Unless, that is, the District Attorney’s office finds a way to retry him. Following a long string of cases involving...
Executing Compassion
 I often hear the usual justifications for ending capital punishment. Deterrence is a fallacy. Innocents and the mentally ill are killed off all the time. Racial inequality is rampant in sentencing. The detrimental impact on the executioners is immeasurable. Closure...
PA Gubernatorial Candidate Announces Opposition to Death Penalty
John Hanger, one of the Democratic candidates for Governor of Pennsylvania, announced his opposition to the death penalty at an event in Pittsburgh Thursday morning. Members of the Pittsburgh chapter of PADP were there to welcome the news. Mr. Hanger's remarks follow....