Bill to Repeal Death Penalty Introduced

State Senator Daylin Leach, a Democrat from Montgomery and Delaware counties has introduced legislation that would repeal the use of capital punishment in Pennsylvania.

Bill 1281, which is circulating in search of co-sponsors would only allow for a maximum sentence of life in prison. Leach says the death penalty disproportionately targets racial minorities and the poor and is not cost efficient or reliable.

Leach said the numbers of people who are exonerated due to DNA evidence the ways people are punished should be reexamined because it is a faulty system.

According to the ACLU there have been six death row exonerations since 1986 in Pennsylvania. There are over 200 people on Pennsylvania's death row.