What is the meaning and effect of Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf's moratorium on carrying out executions of prisoners?

When Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf was running for office in 2014, among his campaign promises was a moratorium on capital punishment, the process or act of putting to death prisoners convicted of particularly heinous crimes, almost always involving murder, and sentenced to die as a result. Soon after being sworn in as governor of Pennsylvania, Wolf implemented his decision, placing a moratorium on the execution of prisoners in his state. By implementing this decision, he not only further illuminated his opposition to capital punishment, but he also ensured that the 181 convicts in Pennsylvania's prison system sentenced to die would remain on "death row" for a continued indeterminate amount of time.

Whether one supports or opposes capital punishment, there is no denying the fact that the legal processes that typically play out following the imposition of a death sentence are extremely protracted and financially costly. Capital punishment is highly emotional and divisive issue across much of the United States, and the appeals processes established to ensure that such sentences were rendered fairly often take many years, even decades. In the meantime, condemned prisoners sit in prison cells awaiting either their execution, which may never come because of the appeals processes, or some commutation of their sentence. 

Another issue, and a big one, is the perception among some of the public that the criminal justice system is fundamentally prejudicial towards ethnic minorities, mainly African Americans. Discussions concerning capital punishment are a microcosm of the broader debate regarding the role of race in American society as a whole. Then-candidate, now-Governor Wolf is among those who view the criminal justice system as tainted by the country's history of racism, and he is also among those who question the right of any government to execute its citizens irrespective of those citizens' actions. When combined with the financial costs associated with the appeals processes that are integral to the legal system, Governor Wolf argues, the concept of capital punishment is deeply flawed. His moratorium on executions in Pennsylvania was, then, a manifestation of his underlying beliefs on this contentious issue.

It is important to keep in mind what the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's decision in December 2015 actually means, however. The court, in its ruling, did not concur with the notion of a moratorium. Rather, the court, which decided unanimously, agreed that a "reprieve," rather than a "moratorium," was consistent with state law. While the court's decision was widely, and understandably, interpreted as agreeing with Governor Wolf, it is not that clear-cut. As noted in one newspaper article describing the court's decision, the justices were clear on their intent:

"'We find no limitation on the executive reprieve power relating to the duration of the reprieve, so long as it is temporary in nature and operates only for an interval of time,' wrote Justice Max Baer of Mt. Lebanon.

While the State Supreme Court concurred that a reprieve was allowable, it did not agree to an indefinite moratorium, which would contravene state law as passed by the Pennsylvania legislature. The governor, in other words, cannot use his moratorium or reprieve to circumvent the law, although definitions of "temporary in nature" could prove very contentious. The nature of capital punishment cases could very well lead to precisely that conclusion. Already extremely drawn-out legal processes could continue under the murky legal and political environment that now dominates. The authority vested in many chief executives to commute death sentences -- in effect, reduce the sentence from death to life in prison -- is similarly not as sweeping in Pennsylvania as some might think. Under state law, absent a recommendation by the Pennsylvania State Board of Pardons, the governor cannot commute a sentence or pardon a prisoner. The effect of Governor Wolf's legal victory, then, will possibly be to prolong an already very protracted process, with dozens of prisoners continuing to reside on "death row."