Brianna Leith

1 Seton Hill Drive

Greensburg PA, 15601

04/05/2022

Senator Kim Ward

1075 South Main Street
Suite 116
Westmoreland Crossroads Plaza
Greensburg, PA 15601

Dear Senator Ward,

“Capital punishment is against the best judgment of modern criminology and, above all, against
the highest expression of love in the nature of God.4” - Martin Luther King Jr., 1957

The death of people is harmful to our community and faith in the criminal justice system.
It also goes against the very laws that place people on death row. People are dead because of
others committing the same crimes as them. Justice does not mean fairness. Death should not
equal more death. So much pain occurs when someone dies no matter who they were in society.
There is always someone that loved them, cared about them, was their best friend, they were
sons or daughters.

All people have a life, and their life should not be taken away from them even when they
took someone else’s. The life and dignity of all people should be protected, no matter who they
are. The CST teaches people to treat others with dignity and to protect the lives of others. I also
would not want to be the person killing them in the execution room.

Abolishing the death penalty in PA and decreasing the sentences on the 129 cases as of
January 01, 20222, would save 129 lives from disappearing. Families will be torn, friendships
will be lost, and lives will be destroyed. I have been an intern social worker and counselor at a
local county prison and have met people serving short and long-term sentences and the damage
only one week does to a person’s life. My work with people who are incarcerated is guided by
the corporal works of mercy. Serving imprisoned people has been educational and challenging,
but I encourage you to visit someone incarcerated to learn more about their experiences.
The death penalty destroys lives and families apart. The current policy governor-imposed
moratorium has taken a step in the right direction. However, a complete abolishment of the
penalty should quickly follow before one more life is lost. Other supportive efforts already taken
are Acts 146 and 147, which give innocent people on death row more time to fight their case and
request DNA testing after pleading guilty. These policies are put in place because you and the
other political leaders have been made aware of the mistakes made through the death penalty.
Not only if the individual is guilty are lives being destroyed now comprehend killing the
innocent person. Actions of death cannot be undone. Sons and daughters will not be brought
home to their families. Instead, they are missed by their families and friends.

Bryan Stevenson wrote Just Mercy in 2015 about the wrongfully convicted individuals on
death row. Stevenson wrote,

“The closer we get to mass incarceration and extreme levels of punishment, the more I
believe it's necessary to recognize that we all need mercy, we all need justice,
and—perhaps—we all need some measure of unmerited grace.3”

Stevenson’s work is emotional, inspirational, and moving. I have read this book over and
over and there is even a movie on it now if books aren’t your hobby. I strongly suggest reading
the book about the discrimination among people who are convicted and their experiences in our
current criminal justice system. There are efforts towards a positive direction, and I hope people
are willing to take the next steps to finish this long process.

Each person has dignity and deserves to live, even when they harm their communities.

Additionally, I suggest researching various organizations such as the Pennsylvania

Innocence Project where I have also been an intern social worker while writing a best practice
manual for social workers working with exonerated people. I believe that understanding the
efforts and work being put in place to abolish the death penalty are growing, and, we need your
support to continue our efforts.

Gale Cengage, in 2018, has also provided information about the state by state actions
taken over the last couple of years and provides the decisions and reasons of other states.1
Pennsylvania can be the next state to take action and save 129 lives; work on exonerating people
who are wrongfully convicted.

“The true measure of our character is how we treat the poor, the disfavored, the accused,
the incarcerated, and the condemned.3” -Bryan Stevenson

Thank you for your time,

Brianna Leith
b.leith@setonhill.edu
Notes:
1 A Continuing Conflict: A History of Capital Punishment in the United States. (2018). In Gale
Essential Overviews: Scholarly. Gale. https://www.gale.com/open-access/death-penalty

2 State by State. Death Penalty Information Center. (2021). Retrieved March 25, 2022, from
https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/state-and-federal-info/state-by-state

3Stevenson, B. (2015). Just mercy: A story of justice and redemption. Spiegel & Grau.

4 The reverend dr. Martin Luther King, jr. on the death penalty. Death Penalty Information
Center. (2016). Retrieved March 25, 2022, from
https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/news/the-reverend-dr-martin-luther-king-jr-on-the-death-penalty#:~:
text=Capital%20punishment%20is%20against%20the,with%20raping%20a%20white%20woma
n.