PA Supreme Court Set to Consider Whether Death Penalty Amounts to Cruel, Arbitrary Punishment

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Pennsylvania Supreme Court is set to consider whether the death penalty amounts to cruel, arbitrary punishment that’s too often reserved for black and poor defendants. Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner opposes capital punishment. He says that two-thirds of the 155 death sentences handed down in Philadelphia over the past 40 years were later overturned. About half of the 137 men on death row in Pennsylvania are black, compared to 11% of state residents.


Widget not in any sidebars