Pennsylvanians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (PADP) announces with sadness the passing away of Kenneth Lawrence Fox, the Vice-Chair of the organization’s board of directors, on Thursday, February 13, 2020.
“Working alongside Ken has been a privilege for me, the other members of the Board, and the greater abolitionist community,” said Akin Adepoju, PADP Board President. “On behalf of PADP, we extend our deepest sympathies and condolences to Ken’s family. Our hearts go out to his family and to all who were touched by his extraordinary gifts, particularly his friendship.”
Mr. Fox, along with co-counsel, successfully represented Otis Peterkin pro bono for seven years in Mr. Peterkin’s federal habeas corpus proceedings. Peterkin’s double murder and robbery convictions, along with the death penalty and prison sentences, were set aside because of the improper admission of evidence, prosecutorial misconduct, ineffective assistance of counsel, and the insufficiency of the properly admitted evidence to support the jury’s verdict. Mr. Fox cited this experience as one of the drivers behind his work to put an end to capital punishment.
Mr. Fox joined PADP’s board in 2013, lending his time, talents, inquisitive nature, creative thinking, and sense of humor to the organization’s statewide efforts to achieve a moratorium on executions and an end to the death penalty. The first goal was achieved precisely five years before Ken’s death when Governor Tom Wolf declared a moratorium on state-sponsored killing.
“Ken enriched our lives, the lives of those who knew him, and the lives of those who did not know him but on whose behalf he strove during his life. We are all better for knowing him. Ken will be greatly missed by us and so many in the civil rights community,” said PADP board member and longtime friend Marshall Dayan.
Pennsylvanians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty is the largest statewide citizens’ organization dedicated to educating the public about alternatives to the death penalty in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and is the convening organization for the Pennsylvania Moratorium Coalition, which is made up of 24 diverse organizations, all calling for a suspension of executions in Pennsylvania while all aspects of the death penalty is reviewed.
To speak with Akin Adepoju, President of Pennsylvanians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, about Pennsylvania’s death penalty, please contact Kathleen Lucas at (717) 236-4840 or at KLucas@padp.org.