Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Monday supported Gov. Tom Wolf's stand on death penalties. The Court confirmed that the governor has the constitutional right to grant pardons to inmates on death row. With the decision, Wolf is very happy.
Wolf said he is very satisfied that the court sustain the constitutional authority of the governor to issue temporary reprieves in death penalty cases, Fox43 reported. Wolf added that his decision to give temporary reprieves came after considerable reflection and thought. He was in no way giving compassion to the inmate but rather to the families of the victims of the awful crimes.
The governor began issuing reprieves to condemned inmates last year when he was troubled with the flaws in the death penalty system of Pennsylvania. He added that the capital punishment was not effective and is very expensive. Wolf has issued reprieves in the cases of five convicted killers already. His decision triggered some prosecutors and he was challenged because of it, ABCNews reported. Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams and Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane have argued Wolf's decision in different cases.
However, TribLiveNews stated that the attorneys were both rejected in high courts by the justices; they said the governor's constitutional power to issue reprieves did not obligate an exact end date or a reason connecting only to the prisoner's distinctive circumstances. In addition, they wrote, governors have issued temporary reprieves that were not tied to a definite end date or that had reasons other than to give the prisoner a chance to seek further appeals. The Supreme Court has continuously sided with the governor but Justice Correale F. Stevens said in a coexisting opinion that the decision should not persuade or validate the governor's nullification of existing, valid state laws.
Pennsylvania has only executed 3 people with its death penalty after restoring it. Those inmates volunteered and waived their rights to appeal.
