Despite challenges, Wolf defends his death penalty policy
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s governor says he’s confident his death-penalty moratorium will withstand legal challenges by prosecutors including state Attorney General Kathleen Kane.
Gov. Tom Wolf said Thursday in a telephone interview with KQV Newsradio in Pittsburgh that Kane’s recent filing echoes issues previously raised by the Philadelphia district attorney in a case pending before the state Supreme Court.
In the case of a death-row inmate convicted of murdering a York teenager two decades ago, Kane asked the justices to declare unconstitutional Wolf’s policy of issuing reprieves in death row cases pending a study of capital punishment in Pennsylvania.
Wolf says he wants to do what’s right and that the state should not make “a rush to judgment” on an issue of such importance to future generations.
Both Wolf and Kane are Democrats.