Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf puts moratorium on state death penalty

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) has put a moratorium on the state death penalty. The moratorium will be in effect until the Pennsylvania Task Force and Advisory Commission on Capital Punishment publishes its report on the state's death penalty policy.

"This moratorium is in no way an expression of sympathy for the guilty on death row, all of whom have been convicted of committing heinous crimes," Wolf said in a statement. "This decision is based on a flawed system that has been proven to be an endless cycle of court proceedings as well as ineffective, unjust, and expensive."

Pennsylvania has 186 inmates on death row. The moratorium will delay the execution of Terrance Williams, who was convicted of a 1984 murder and had been scheduled to receive the death penalty on March 4.

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