Capital punishment in Pennsylvania
Capital punishment is a legal punishment in Pennsylvania. Despite remaining a legal penalty, there have been no executions in Pennsylvania since 1999, and only three since 1976 (all occurring in the 1990s, during the governorship of Tom Ridge). In February 2015, Governor Tom Wolf announced a formal moratorium on executions that is still in effect as of February 2021. However, capital crimes are still prosecuted for and death warrants are still issued. History. Prior to 1913, hanging was the common method of execution. In 1834, Pennsylvania became the first state in the union to eradicate public  hangings. For the following decades, each county throughout the state was in charge of carrying out private hangings within their jails. 1915 saw the first use of the electric chair, two years after it was approved by the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 1913. The delay was due to the time needed to finish the Western Penitentiary in Centre County, now the State Correctional Institution – Rockview. From 1915 to 1962, 350 people were executed by electric chair. Most of these defendants were men, but two of them were women. A total of 1,043 people have been executed in Pennsylvania since 1693 . As of 2002 this was the 3rd highest of any other state or commonwealth in the Union, after New York (1,130) and Virginia (1,361). Since 1978, there have been nearly 25,000 homicides throughout the state of Pennsylvania, where 408 of these homicides ended in defendants being put on death row which amounts to 1.6 death sentences to every 100 homicides. The former Governor of Pennsylvania, Robert Casey, signed a bill in 1990 that changed the method of execution from electrocution to lethal injection. 2015 moratorium. In 2015, the state of Pennsylvania spent about $46 million annually on the death  penalty to maintain the prisoners housed on death row, as well as carrying out any executions. The average price to house and take care of a death row inmate per year was about $42,000. With concerns over the cost of the death penalty growing, Governor Tom Wolf requested a cost-benefit analysis. In February 2015, Governor Wolf announced a moratorium on executions that is still in effect as of January 2020. However, capital crimes are still prosecuted and death warrants are still executed. Wolf stated, "In no way does this mean sympathy for those guilty on death row." In  justifying the moratorium, Wolf asserted as concerns that the system claims innocent lives, is not a deterrent to crime, is racially biased, costs a lot of money, and disregards mental illness in the US. Legal process. The death penalty is only applied when a defendant is guilty of first-degree murder. A separate hearing must take place for this defendant to be put on death row. If one of the ten aggravating circumstances listed in Pennsylvania law and none of the eight mitigating factors are found to be involved in the case, the verdict is death for the defendant. When  the prosecution seeks the death penalty, the sentence is decided by the jury and must be unanimous. In case of a hung jury during the penalty phase of the trial, a life sentence is issued, even if a single juror opposed death (there is no retrial). A death sentence has to be affirmed by the state Supreme Court. If it is affirmed, the governor of the state must sign off on the death sentence. This is a signed document known as the 'Governor's Warrant'. State constitutional provisions require a unanimous vote of the Pardons Board to permanently change any  life or death sentence before the governor can commute it. Capital crimes. First-degree murder can be punished by death in Pennsylvania if it involves one of the following aggravating factors: Death row. The execution chamber of the State of Pennsylvania is on the grounds of the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections State Correctional Institution – Rockview. Most male death row inmates are housed in State Correctional Institution – Greene, while some are housed at State Correctional Institution – Phoenix. , 80% of all Pennsylvania death row inmates were held at Greene. While there are no female capital case inmates at this time, any female  death row inmates would be housed at the State Correctional Institution – Muncy. Prior to its closure, State Correctional Institution – Graterford housed male death row inmates. As of December 2021, 110 people were on Pennsylvania's death row. All of these inmates are male. 74% of inmates in Pennsylvania who are on death row have been on it for more than 10 years. Some inmates who were facing death row have received re-trials or different sentencing strategies due to Governor Wolf's moratorium. Pennsylvania has only executed three inmates since 1976. The first was Keith Zettlemoyer in May 1995, followed  by Leon Moser in August 1995. The third and most recent execution was carried out in July 1999, with the execution of Gary M. Heidnik. All three executions were consensual, with the inmates dropping their right to appeals. This makes the state of Pennsylvania one of the least active states involving the death penalty to still retain it. Even so, Pennsylvania is one of the states with the highest number of housed death row inmates.