With populations around one million people, Philadelphia, Baltimore, San Francisco and Pittsburgh are the largest U.S. cities to date to call for a moratorium on executions. Each city’s action came within a month of Governor Ryan’s declaration of a moratorium in Illinois. Eight other local governments have also asked lawmakers to stop and take a closer look at the flaws in the death penalty’s application.
“I considered it our responsibility to speak out against the clear racial bias pervading our state’s death penalty system. The council was more than happy to pass the resolution. In fact it was unanimously approved,” says Dr. Norman Handy, a Baltimore City council member.
Philadelphia’s action came just two weeks before a 12-hour hearing in the state Senate on a pending two-year moratorium bill on February 22. Philadelphia County has sentenced 125 of the 226 people now on death row in Pennsylvania; nearly 90% of these Philadelphia prisoners are people of color. Statewide, over 90% of all death row prisoners could not afford their own attorney – a fact that helped convince the city council to urge a moratorium.
Similarly, the Maryland House of Delegates held hearings in February on a three-year moratorium bill just days after Baltimore City passed its resolution, underscoring racial disparity in death sentencing. Of the 17 inmates on Maryland’s death row, 71% are African American – one of the highest percentages in the country. Governor Glendening has earmarked state funds for a University of Maryland study of how race impacts capital prosecution, trials and sentencing.
Activists report the introduction of moratorium resolutions in countless cities and counties throughout the country. This action sends a clear message to legislatures that public understanding about the death penalty is shifting. Overall, 750 groups have joined the call nationwide, including bar associations, businesses, faith communities, labor groups, and others.
Other municipalities urging a moratorium include: New Haven, CT; Mt. Rainier and Takoma Park, MD; Charlottesville, VA; and Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Durham, and Orange County, NC.
