USA - Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court Takes Up Gov. Wolf's Death Penalty Moratorium

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court Takes Up Gov. Wolf's Death Penalty Moratorium, and will decide whether moratorium is legal. The Court has left in place Gov. Wolf's reprieve of Terrence Williams, who was to be the next person executed in the state. The Court called for further arguments from the parties supporting and challenging the governor's action. A Supreme Court order issued Today granted the request by Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams to review the policy announced by the governor last month. The court says it won't expedite the case. It's not clear when the court will hear the case. Dauphin County District Attorney Ed Marsico said other prosecutors would file to support Williams' action, probably next week. The justices want to hear argument about whether they should have taken up the matter at all, along with argument about how they should rule. The case centers on a reprieve issued by Wolf to state prison inmate Terrance Williams. He's on death row for the fatal tire-iron beating of a man in Philadelphia in 1984. Wolf says the state's death penalty system is error-prone and expensive. He plans to issue reprieves while a legislative panel studies the issue.