CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIANS TO ABOLISH THE DEATH PENALTY
a chapter of Pennsylvania Abolitionists United Against the Death Penalty
315 Peffer Street
Harrisburg, PA 17102
info@cpadp.org, www.cpadp.org


February 26, 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: info@cpadp.org

“Death penalty does nothing to provide healing”
Victim’s father to speak for abolition on Tuesday

HARRISBURG- Very few Americans will have to experience the violent death of a loved one.  Reverend Walter Everett of Lewisburg is one who has, and his experience and his faith have brought him to the conclusion that we can live without the death penalty.

“I’m convinced that the death penalty does nothing to provide healing for the victims,” Everett said, “and increases the level of violence in society.”

In 1987, Everett’s 24-year-old son, Scott, was killed in a random shooting.  Everett will share his experience in Harrisburg on Tuesday at Grace United Methodist Church, 216 State Street.  The event begins at 7:30pm and is free and open to the public.

“We welcome Walt to central Pennsylvania,” said Andy Hoover, president of Central Pennsylvanians to Abolish the Death Penalty.  “His is a voice of clarity that needs to be heard.

“Most of us will not have to experience the trauma that he has felt.  It is awe-inspiring to see him come through that experience and recognize that the death penalty has no place in our society.”

Everett and his wife, Nancy, recently moved to Lewisburg from Hartford, CT, after his retirement from the ministry in the Methodist church.  Everett is a member of the board of directors of Murder Victims Families for Human Rights and joined the board of CPADP earlier this month.

The Tuesday event comes at a time when examination of the death penalty has been renewed in Pennsylvania and around the country.  At the capitol, both chambers of the General Assembly are considering bills that would end the execution of the mentally retarded.  Senate Bill 631 and House Bill 1410 would allow the judge to determine the defendant’s mental capacity before trial, which is supported by advocates for the mentally retarded, church groups, and civil libertarians.  Senate Bill 334 and House Bill 698 would hand the responsibility of mental determination to the jury after conviction, which is supported by the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association.

“We are hopeful that the legislature will do everything in its power to ensure that no mentally retarded defendant is at risk of execution,” Hoover said.  “We are equally hopeful that they will pass legislation that will withstand constitutional muster and save the taxpayers the cost of court challenges.”

Meanwhile, the Innocence Commission Act is currently on the floor of the PA Senate.  This bill would establish the Innocence Commission of Pennsylvania to study the underlying reasons why innocent people are convicted of crimes.  At a hearing on the bill on January 30, Nicholas Yarris was among the witnesses testifying for passage.  Yarris spent 21 years on death row before being cleared by DNA evidence in January, 2004, and in his testimony, he advocated not only for passage of the Innocence Commission Act but also for a moratorium on executions.

In November, Harold Wilson became the seventh death row exoneree in Pennsylvania when he was found not guilty at retrial.  Wilson spent 16 years condemned to death before winning his freedom.  DNA evidence played a crucial role in his acquittal.

Last month, New Jersey became the first state to enact a moratorium on executions through legislation.  (The two previous moratoria in Illinois and Maryland were enacted through gubernatorial action.)  In a recent study, New Jersey learned that it had spent $250 million on capital punishment for a system that produced 10 death row prisoners, 50 vacated death sentences, and no executions in more than 40 years.

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