
Pennsylvania has life without parole. A
jury decides the sentence. The Governor
must have the recommendation of the State Board of
Pardons before granting clemency.

Pennsylvania has had more
exonerations (6) than executions (3).
Over two-thirds of
those on Pennsylvania's death row are members of minorities. More than half of the death row inmates are
from one city, Philadelphia, even though Philadelphia has only about
14% of the state's population. A comprehensive study of race and
the death penalty in Philadelphia by renowned researcher David Baldus
of the University of Iowa in 1998 found that blacks faced odds of
receiving a death sentence which were 3.9 times higher than others who
committed similar crimes.
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