GREENSBURG – Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward (R-39) issued the following statement regarding the Pennsylvania House of Representatives actions compromising the safety of Pennsylvania’s communities and neighborhoods by advancing soft-on-crime legislation for violent criminals including convicted murders and offenders of sexual assault and abuse.
“The House Democrats did a huge disservice to the people of Pennsylvania yesterday by making a calculated political move to purposefully run out the clock by not engaging the Senate on two Senate bills supported by the PA Attorney General, Fraternal Order of Police, the District Attorneys Association and victims’ rights groups which addressed second-degree murder parole cases. Instead, House Democrats delivered a soft-on-crime, criminal-friendly bill that will give violent second-degree murder convicts an immediate opportunity for release. But it doesn’t stop there: the House Democrats’ bill also provides a new ‘get out of jail free card’ called ‘medical parole’ which means convicted sexual predators like Jerry Sandusky would be eligible for release for any number of reasons. To be clear, the Senate acted twice by sending two bills to the House of Representatives and they sat on them until the eleventh hour. The outright refusal by House Democrats to work with the Senate on the two bipartisan bills we passed, coupled with the Shapiro administration’s silence until yesterday, not only demonstrates a ‘criminal first, victim last’ mentality, but also sends a loud and clear message to victims and survivors. Thankfully, yesterday Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala filed a petition with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court requesting an extension of time before the deadline which we are hopeful the court grants.”
MEDIA CONTACT: Erica Clayton Wright
412-334-4856