Did the commonwealth of Pennsylvania need a report, six and a half years in the making, to acknowledge that the state’s death penalty has some problems?

All one needs to know is that Pennsylvania has executed three men since the death penalty was reinstated in 1978. All three men volunteered to be executed—waiving their appeal rights. In fact, Pennsylvania has not carried out an involuntary execution since 1962. In the last 30 years, approximately 35 inmates have died while waiting for an execution date.