The Moratorium Campaign


Death Penalty:	YES
Prohibit Execution of the Mentally Retarded:	NO. However, this state must draft legislation with clear and unambiguous language prohibiting executions of persons with an IQ of less than 70 in order to reflect the recent United States Supreme Court decision Atkins v. Virginia, which held that such executions are unconstitutional.
Life Without Parole:	YES
Minimum Age to Eligible for the Death Penalty:	16
Number on Death Row:	244
Executions Since 1976:	3
Race of Defendants:	156 black (64%), 72 white (30%), 14 hispanic (6%), 2 asian (0.8%)
Racial Make-up of State Population:	88.5% white, 9.7% black, 2.6% hispanic, 1.7% asian/pacific islander
Governor:	Ed Rendell, (Democrat),
Presidential Vote:	51% Gore, 47% Bush, 2% Nader
Public Opinion on the Death Penalty:	A poll conducted by Yost Opinion Research in March 2001 found 71% favor the death penalty, and 67% said they would support Life Without Parole (LWOP) to eliminate the possibility of executing an innocent person. As to a moratorium, only 35% support a moratorium with 57% wanting to continue executions. When respondents were told that several people have been released from death row due to DNA evidence, 72% are in favor of a moratorium with 22% still opposed to a moratorium.
Organizations Endorsing a Moratorium:	City of Erie City of Gettysburg City of Harrisburg City of Philadelphia City of Pittsburgh Borough of Rouseville City of Shippensburg (Shippensburg) City of York A United Methodist Witness in Pennsylvania (Harrisburg) Alliance for Progressive Action (Pittsburgh) American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania (ACLU) (Philadelphia) American Federation of Teachers, Local #2026 (AFL-CIO) (Philadelphia) Amnesty International, Group 112 (Philadelphia) Amnesty International, Group 347 (Coopersburg) Association of Pittsburgh Priests Assumption Church (Bellevue / Pittsburg) Augustinian Justice & Peace Office (Philadelphia) Benedictine Sisters of Erie (Erie) Benedictine Sisters of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh) Bernardine Franciscan Sisters (King of Prussia) Big Mountain / Leonard Peltier Support Group (Philadelphia) Books Through Bars (Philadelphia) Brandywine Peace Community (Swarthmore) Bruderhof Communities of PA, Inc. (Farmington) By My Side, the Adopt-A-Family Network (Philadelphia) Campaign to End the Death Penalty, Philadelphia Campus Coalition for Peace and Justice, University of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh) Catholic Campus Ministry, Millersville University (Millersville) Catholic Daughters of the Americas, Court Regina Pacis #1055 (Upper Darby) Catholic Peace Fellowship (Philadelphia) Central Pennsylvania Legislative Initiative to Abolish the Death Penalty (Landisburg) Central Pennsylvanians to Abolish the Death Penalty (Landisburg) Coalition for the Abolition of Prisons, Inc. (Quakertown) Committee to End the Death Penalty in Wilkes-Barre, PA (Wilkes-Barre) Community of the Christian Spirit (Abington) Cuba Coalition (Pittsburgh) Democratic Socialists of America, Delaware County Chapter (Delaware County) Dignity Philadelphia (Philadelphia) Evangelicals for Social Action (Wynnewood) Fellowship of Reconciliation, Racial and Economic Justice Program Food Not Bombs (Philadelphia) GALAEI Project (Philadelphia) General Conference of the Mennonite Church, Eastern District, Peace and Social Concerns Committee Germantown Catholic Worker Global Links Graduate Student Progressive Action Network (Pittsburgh) Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart (Yardley) Holy Name of Mary Church (Montrose) House of Grace Catholic Worker (Philadelphia) Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), Lancaster General Membership Branch (Lancaster) Interfaith Center for Peace and Justice (Gettysburg) Jubilee Pax Christi (Harrisburg) Lehigh-Pocono Committee of Concern (Bethlehem) Lighthouse Prison Ministry (Winfield) Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania (Harrisburg) Millersville University (Millersville) Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, Reading Community (Reading) National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America (N'COBRA), Philadelphia Chapter (Philadelphia) National Lawyers Guild, Philidelphia Chapter (Philadelphia) National People's Campaign (Philadelphia) National People's Democratic Uhuru Movement (Philadelphia) New Jerusalem Laura (Philadelphia) Pastors for Peace, Pittsburgh Chapter (Pittsburgh) Pax Christi of Lehigh Valley (Lehigh Valley) Pax Christi, Pittsbugh Chapter (Pittsburgh) Peace Advocates of Carlisle Presbytery (Carlisle) Peace and Justice Ministry (Philadelphia) Pennswood Village, Social Concerns Committee (Newtown) Pennsylvania Abolitionists United Against the Death Penalty (Philadelphia) Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (Harrisburg) Pennsylvania Bar Association (Harrisburg) Pennsylvania Catholic Conference (Harrisburg) Pennsylvania Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, Capital Area Chapter (Harrisburg) Pennsylvania Council of Churches (Harrisburg) Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project (Philadelphia) Pennsylvania Prison Society (Philadelphia) Pennsylvania Prison Society, Blair County Chapter (Hollidaysburg) Philadelphia Area Maryknoll Affiliates (Philadelphia) Philadelphia Bar Association (Philadelphia) Philadelphia Catholic Worker (Philadelphia) Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia) Pittsburgh Area Pax Christi (Pittsburgh) Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh) Presbyterian Church, Synod of the Trinity Presbyterian Church, Synod of the Trinity, Social and Racial Justice Witness Work Group (Ligonier) Prism Magazine (Wynnewood) Pro Life Union, Inc. of South Eastern Pennsylvania Project H.O.M.E. (Philadelphia) Refuse and Resist (Philadelphia) Religious Society of Friends, Biglerville Monthly Meeting (Biglerville) Religious Society of Friends, Carlisle Meeting Religious Society of Friends, Central Philadelphia Monthly Meeting of Friends (Philadelphia) Religious Society of Friends, Chambersburg Meeting (Chambersburg) Religious Society of Friends, Concord Friends Meeting (Concordville) Religious Society of Friends, Germantown Monthly Meeting (Philadelphia) Religious Society of Friends, Gettysburg Monthly Meeting (Gettysburg) Religious Society of Friends, Harrisburg Monthly Meeting (Harrisburg) Religious Society of Friends, Lehigh Valley Friends Meeting (Lehigh Valley) Religious Society of Friends, Pennsdale Monthly Meeting Religious Society of Friends, Providence Monthly Meeting (Media) Religious Society of Friends, State College Friends Meeting, Peace & Social Action Committee Religious Society of Friends, Swarthmore Monthly Meeting (Swarthmore) Religious Society of Friends, Wellsville Monthly Meeting (Wellsville) Religious Society of Friends, York Monthly Meeting (York) Saint Mary's Episcopal Church (Philadelphia) School Sisters of St. Francis (Pittsburgh) Scranton Fellowship Of Reconciliation (FOR) (Scranton) Service Employees International Union, Local #585 Session of Market Square Presbyterian Church (Harrisburg) Sholom Aleichem Club (Philadelphia) Sisters of Divine Providence, Allison Park (Allison Park) Sisters of Divine Providence, Philadelphia (Philadelphia) Sisters of Mercy, Justice Committee (Merion Station) Sisters of Mercy, Maranatha Convent (Yeadon) Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, Leadership Group (Philadelphia) Sisters of St. Francis, Millvale (Millvale) Sisters of St. Francis, Novell Sisters of St. Francis, Philadelphia (Philadelphia) Sisters of St. Joseph of Northwestern Pennsylvania (Erie) Sisters of St. Joseph of Philadelphia (Philadelphia) Sisters of St. Joseph of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh) Socialist Party of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia) Solidarity (Philadelphia) Spring Valley Bruderof (Farmington) St. Augustine Justice and Peace Center (Philadelphia) St. Columbkill Church (Boyertown) St. Francis Inn (Philadelphia) St. Mary's Church at the Cathedral (Philadelphia) St. Mary's Episcopal Church (Philadelphia) St. Paul's Baptist Church (Philadelphia) St. Rose of Lima (North Wales) St. Vincent de Paul Church's Peace & Justice Ministry (Philadelphia) Suburban Philadelphia Greens (Bryn Mawr) Taller Puertorriqueno (Philadelphia) The Other Side Magazine (Philadelphia) Thomas Merton Center (Pittsburgh) Unitarian Universalist Church of the Lehigh Valley (Bethlehem) Unitarian Universalists for a Just Economic Community (Pittsburgh) United Church of Christ, PA North East Conference United Concerned Christians at Work United Methodist Church, Central Pennsylvania Annual Conference United Methodist Church, Eastern Pennsylvania Annual Conference United Methodist Church, Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, Church and Society Work Team United Methodist Church, Western Pennsylvania Annual Conference United Methodist Church, Wyoming Annual Conference West Philadelphia Mennonite Fellowship Western Pennsylvania Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty Western Pennsylvania Coalition to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), Center City Philadelphia (Philadelphia) Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), Germantown Branch (Philadelphia) Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), Harrisburg (Harrisburg) Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), North East Region Women's Ordination Conference, SouthEastern PA (Philadelphia) Wooden Shoe Bookstore (Philadelphia)

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