Panel Urges Halt to Executions in Pa

Panel Urges Halt to Executions in Pa. - Committee named by state high court calls for a moratorium to allow probe, noting that race has been a factor in some death sentences.
Pennsylvania should halt executions until it can thoroughly study the effect race has on the imposition of death sentences, a blue-ribbon committee appointed by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court recommended.
Studies conducted in Pennsylvania "demonstrate that, at least in some counties, race plays a major, if not overwhelming role in the imposition of the death penalty," the report said.
The committee called on Gov. Ed Rendell, a death penalty supporter, to use his constitutional authority to grant temporary reprieves. The committee also urged the state Supreme Court to declare a moratorium, "pursuant to its inherent power to issue temporary stays of execution." There was no immediate comment from Rendell or the court, which appointed a committee to study racial and gender bias in the state's courts 3 years ago.
The committee is chaired by Nicholas P. Cafardi, dean of the Duquesne University School of Law in Pittsburgh.
With 245 condemned inmates, Pennsylvania has the 4th-largest death row in the nation, trailing California, Texas and Florida. Although minorities make up only 11% of Pennsylvania's population, 68% of the death row inmates are minorities -- including 150 blacks, 15 Latinos and 2 Asian Americans, according to the study.