PENA MORTE: USA; RAPPORTO SPINGE PENNSYLVANIA A MORATORIA

NEW YORK, 5 MAR - Una moratoria sulle esecuzioni e' stata chiesta al governatore della Pennsylvania da una commissione speciale, nominata dalla Corte suprema dello stato per valutare il peso della discriminazione razziale nella pena di morte.

   Tra i 38 stati degli Usa dove e' in vigore la pena di morte, una moratoria e' in atto per ora solo in Illinois, mentre il nuovo governatore del Maryland ha annunciato la fine del blocco delle esecuzioni, che per il momento non sono pero' riprese.

   Il rapporto di 550 pagine chiede al governatore della Pennsylvania, Ed Rendell e alla Corte suprema dello stato di sospendere le esecuzioni in attesa di approfondire le indicazioni che sembrano dimostrare che gli afro-americani hanno piu' probabilita' dei bianchi di essere condannati a morte. Tra i 242 detenuti nel braccio della morte in Pennsylvania, il 62% e' costituito da neri, che pero' rappresentano solo il 10% della popolazione dello stato.

   La Pennsylvania non e' particolarmente attiva sul fronte delle esecuzioni: dal 1976, quando e' stata reintrodotta la pena di morte, nello stato sono state giustiziate in tutto solo tre persone.

Pennsylvania Supreme Court's Committee Calls for Moratorium

     A report released by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's Committee on Racial and Gender Bias in the Justice System recommends that Governor Ed Rendell and state lawmakers enact a moratorium on the death penalty to provide an opportunity to further review the impact of race in death penalty sentences. "Empirical studies conducted in Pennsylvania to date demonstrate that, at least in some counties, race plays a major, if not overwhelming, role in the imposition of the death penalty," the report states. The Committee, created in 1999, also recommended passage of a Racial Justice Act, statewide standards for prosecutorial discretion, and statewide standards for both trial and appellate lawyers in capital cases.

Pennsylvania panel advises death penalty moratorium

 Pennsylvania should stop executing criminals until it can study the impact of race in death penalty sentences, a committee appointed by the state's Supreme Court said in a report released Tuesday.

 The Committee on Racial and Gender Bias in the Justice System made the recommendation in a report. The report advised that Gov. Ed Rendell and the Legislature order a moratorium until courts can ensure the death penalty is administered fairly.

 In its finding, the committee did not suggest prosecutors stop seeking the death penalty. It said only that executions should end for now.

 "The moratorium should continue until policies and procedures intended to ensure that the death penalty is administered fairly and impartially are implemented," the report said.

 It noted that studies showed that "at least in some counties, race plays a major, if not overwhelming, role in the imposition of the death penalty."

 The report said Pennsylvania has the nation's fourth-largest death row, with 245 inmates. While Pennsylvania's minority population is 11 %, more than 60 % of the inmates on death row are minorities. That puts the state 2nd only to Louisiana in the percentage of blacks on death row.

 Only three people have been executed in Pennsylvania since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. The last was Philadelphia murderer Gary Heidnik in 1999.

 There have been calls for moratoriums on the death penalty across the nation, but, until recently, there had been only two put in place. One implemented by former Illinois Gov. George Ryan remains in effect. Maryland's new governor, Robert Ehrlich, lifted one in that state when he took office in January.

 Rendell, a former Philadelphia district attorney, supports the death penalty. He said before taking office that he would review death-penalty cases that are new or have new evidence, but has seen "no evidence" that the system is flawed.

 A spokesman for Rendell, who was giving a speech to the Legislature on Tuesday morning concerning his 1st state budget, did not immediately return calls.

 Since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, Pennsylvania has executed 3 people. Leon Moser and Keith Zettlemoyer were executed in 1995. Philadelphia torture-killer Gary Heidnik was put to death in 1999. 

PENNSYLVANIA: Panel Urges Halt to Executions in Pa. - Committee named by state high court calls for a moratorium to allow probe, noting that race has been a factor in some death sentences.

 Pennsylvania should halt executions until it can thoroughly study the effect race has on the imposition of death sentences, a blue-ribbon committee appointed by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court recommended Tuesday.

 Studies conducted in Pennsylvania "demonstrate that, at least in some counties, race plays a major, if not overwhelming role in the imposition of the death penalty," the report said.

 The committee called on Gov. Ed Rendell, a death penalty supporter, to use his constitutional authority to grant temporary reprieves. The committee also urged the state Supreme Court to declare a moratorium, "pursuant to its inherent power to issue temporary stays of execution." There was no immediate comment from Rendell or the court, which appointed a committee to study racial and gender bias in the state's courts 3 years ago.

 "The moratorium should continue until policies and procedures intended to ensure that the death penalty is administered fairly and impartially are implemented," said the committee, chaired by Nicholas P. Cafardi, dean of the Duquesne University School of Law in Pittsburgh.

 With 245 condemned inmates, Pennsylvania has the 4th-largest death row in the nation, trailing California, Texas and Florida. Although minorities make up only 11% of Pennsylvania's population, 68% of the death row inmates are minorities -- including 150 blacks, 15 Latinos and 2 Asian Americans, according to the study.

 The Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, a pro-death penalty group in Sacramento, criticized the report, saying the racial-disparity data was misleading.

 "The starting point should be to compare death row with the racial composition of the population of murderers," said the group's legal director, Kent Scheidegger.

 Between 1976 and 1999, 63% of the homicides in Pennsylvania in which the race of the perpetrators were known were committed by minorities, he said, citing FBI statistics. That figure is "very close to the proportion of the state's death row," Scheidegger said.

 In recent years, there have been growing calls for death penalty moratoriums around the country, starting with a recommendation by the American Bar Assn. in 1997. Illinois is the only state that has a moratorium. Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich lifted one there when he was inaugurated this year.

 Several religious groups and city councils in Pennsylvania have called for a moratorium, and a bipartisan moratorium bill is pending in the legislature.

 Although Pennsylvania has a large death row, there have been only three executions in the state in the last 25 years. The state had a de facto moratorium on executions from 1987 to 1994 when Democratic Gov. Robert Casey, a devout Catholic who opposed capital punishment and abortion, refused to sign any death warrants.

 The report also said Pennsylvania does a shoddy job of providing lawyers for poor defendants facing death sentences.

 "With the exception of Philadelphia, there was a lack of effective standards for appointment of capital counsel," the report said.

 Moreover, no specific training for lawyers handling death penalty cases is required in the state and "no county effectively monitors performance of capital counsel."

 The report recommends that Pennsylvania create a statewide public defender system, adopt new standards for defense lawyers in death penalty cases as recommended by the ABA last month and pass a Racial Justice Act.

 Such a statute would permit defendants to present evidence "of a pattern and practice of disparate treatment in both the prosecutorial decision to seek the death penalty and in sentencing outcomes." Only Kentucky has such a law.

 "We are very gratified by this development," said Philadelphia attorney Lawrence J. Fox, who heads a special ABA committee on the death penalty. "Pennsylvania has a disastrous system county by county for appointment of lawyers in capital cases." 

Suspension of Executions Is Urged for Pennsylvania

 A committee appointed by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court recommended yesterday that the state halt executions until the effects of possible racial bias in capital cases are better understood.

 "There are strong indications that Pennsylvania's capital justice system does not operate in an evenhanded manner," the committee wrote. "Empirical studies conducted in Pennsylvania to date demonstrate that, at least in some counties, race plays a major, if not overwhelming, role in the imposition of the death penalty."

 Blacks are overrepresented on death row in Pennsylvania by all measures, the report said, with 62 % of the inmates. Pennsylvania is, the report said, 2nd to Louisiana in the percentage of blacks on death row, at 65 %. The committee urged the Supreme Court and Gov. Edward G. Rendell to impose an immediate moratorium, but it appears highly unlikely that the court or the governor will do so.

 The recommendation is part of a broader 550-page report by the panel, the Committee on Racial and Gender Bias in the Judicial System. It has been studying the issues since 1999, said its chairman, Nicholas P. Cafardi, who is dean of Duquesne University Law School.

The committee urged the court to create a commission to study how the races of capital defendants and victims affect prosecutorial decisions and sentences. No executions should proceed, the committee said, "until policies and procedures intended to ensure that the death penalty is administered fairly and impartially are adopted."

 In releasing the report, Chief Justice Ralph J. Cappy said the recommendations "merit active consideration," and he announced the creation of additional committees to review the report.

 It is not clear that the court has the power to impose a moratorium, at least outside of the context of a pending case. That was one reason, Mr. Cafardi said, for some of the more general recommendations.

"We stepped a bit outside of our authority," Mr. Cafardi said. "And we made recommendations to the governor, the Legislature, the attorney general and district attorneys."

 Mr. Rendell, who supports the death penalty, did not return calls for comment.

 A spokesman for Attorney General Mike Fisher, Sean Connolly, said: "The attorney general opposes a moratorium on the death penalty. He believes the system in Pennsylvania, which requires close scrutiny from the jury, the judge, the governor, the State Supreme Court and the federal courts, is working and does not need to be halted for another study."

 The report, Mr. Connolly added, "is based on old studies and ultimately recommends another study."

 Pennsylvania has the nation's 4th largest death row, with 245, after California, Florida and Texas. It has executed three people since the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976. Texas has executed almost 300 people, and Florida more than 50.

 The racial disparity is more disproportionate in Philadelphia than it is statewide, said Robert Dunham, a federal public defender who specializes in death-penalty cases in that city.

 "Philadelphia has placed more African-Americans on death row than any other city or county in the United States," he said, more than 100. "The odds that a black defendant will be sentenced to death in Philadelphia are triple that of a white defendant."

 Besides recommending the moratorium, the report called for creating a database "to identify possible racial and gender discrimination in capital charging and sentencing." It also urged the Legislature to enact laws like the Racial Justice Act in Kentucky. That measure allows capital defendants to challenge death sentences on the ground of racial discrimination supported by statistical rather than individualized proof. The United States Supreme Court ruled in 1987 that statistical evidence was insufficient to show racial discrimination under the United States Constitution.

 Prosecutors do not have publicly available standards describing when they will seek the death penalty, the report said, and the panel noted that most prosecutors declined to provide information about that. The Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association "advised member counties not to cooperate with the committee," it added.

 The association did not return a call for comment.

 Other states have experimented with moratoriums. In Maryland and Illinois, governors imposed them while studying the fairness of capital justice.

 In January, a study commissioned by former Gov. Parris N. Glendening of Maryland said racial bias existed in capital sentencing there. But it was the victim's race, and not the defendant's, that was found to have a significant role in determining death sentences.

 Mr. Glendening's successor, Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., has lifted the moratorium. Before Gov. George Ryan left office in Illinois, he commuted the death sentences of everyone on death row. His successor, Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich, has said he will continue the moratorium until he has more confidence in the application of the death penalty.