Rabb to introduce legislation repealing Pennsylvania’s death penalty

Rep. Christopher M. Rabb    February 17, 2023 | 2:45 PM

HARRISBURG, Feb. 17 – Following Gov. Josh Shapiro’s Thursday announcement that he will not issue any execution warrants during his term, state Rep. Chris Rabb, D-Phila., today announced that he will reintroduce legislation to repeal Pennsylvania’s death penalty, a bill that he has proposed three times since taking office in 2017.

“One innocent life taken at the hands of the state is one too many. The fact that the state has put even one innocent person to death is simply egregious,” Rabb said. “Furthermore, the appeals process when a person is sentenced to death is long and costly, lasting decades and often resulting in their death via old age rather than lethal injection.

“The risks are grave and the injustices irreparable. Our justice system is simply too fallible and the benefits too small to continue this practice.”

Should Pennsylvania enact Rabb’s legislation, it would join 23 other states that have decided to abolish the death penalty.

According to Gallup polling, public support for the death penalty is the lowest it’s been in decades. In Pennsylvania, the number of new death penalty sentences has steadily declined since the 1990s.

Send Feedback