York City Council Resolution

Council of the City of York, PA
Session 2000
Resolution

INTRODUCED BY: Councilman Wm. Lee Smallwood DATE: October 17, 2000

WHEREAS, according to a report given by the Death Penalty Information Center, as of April 1, 2000, Pennsylvania had 232 inmates on death row, including three juveniles, with 162 of those inmates being persons of color; and

WHEREAS, in 1990, the U.S. General Accounting Office reported “a pattern of evidence indicating racial disparities in charging, sentencing and imposition of the death penalty”; and

WHEREAS, the European Parliament passed a resolution calling for the universal abolition of the death penalty, especially deploring the United States and China in its resolution, and further requires applicants for new membership to totally abolish capital punishment; and

WHEREAS, no state has met the standards developed by the American Bar Association for the appointment, performance and compensation of counsel for indigent prisoners, with the legal representation for most capital defendants being grossly inadequate, in addition to findings that at least 90% of those persons facing capital charges cannot afford their own attorney; and

WHEREAS, the American Bar Association’s policy-making body, the House of Delegates, has called for a moratorium on executions in this country until jurisdictions implement policies to ensure that death penalty cases are administered fairly, impartially, and in accordance with the due process and minimize the risk that innocent persons may be executed;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Council of the City of York, Pennsylvania, that York City Council hereby joins with other municipalities across the Commonwealth in calling upon the Pennsylvania Legislature to enact and adopt legislation imposing a moratorium on executions and the signing of death warrants throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania until policies and procedures are implemented for a restorative approach to corrections which shall include but are not limited to resolutions which address the humane, ethical, moral, racial, economical, and political problems surrounding capital punishment; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that if the death penalty is certified as a legal, just and humane form of capital punishment, that the legislature will ensure death penalty cases are administered fairly and impartially, eliminate the risk that innocent persons may be executed, and prevent the execution of mentally retarded persons and persons who are under the age of 18 at the time of their offenses; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a copy of this Resolution shall be forwarded to the members of the Pennsylvania Legislature in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

This resolution was passed unanimously (5 - 0) by the City Council of York on Tuesday, October 17, 2000.


Moratorium Campaign Info