Can you take action to save a man's life?

Terry Williams at the age of 17.

It's been 13 years since anyone was executed in Pennsylvania. In the 1990s, three men voluntarily ended their appeals to accept death. It has been 50 years since anyone was involuntarily executed in the commonwealth. This, despite a bursting death row with more than 200 people, the fourth-largest death row in the country.

Terrance "Terry" Williams is at risk of being the first person executed against his will in Pennsylvania since John Kennedy was president.

The basic facts of Terry's case are not in dispute. In 1984, just a few months after his 18th birthday, he killed Amos Norwood in Philadelphia. Less than a year earlier, while he was still 17, Terry killed another man, Herbert Hamilton.

But there were key facts in Terry's case that the jury never heard, facts that may have convinced the jury to spare his life. Terry had been a victim of repeated sexual assault since the age of six, and his two victims had been abusing him. His trial attorney never investigated these facts, so the jury never heard them.

This case was and is a tragedy in every sense. Several jurors recently stated that they would have ruled for a life-without-parole sentence for Terry if they had known these facts. Some jurors have also said that they opted for death because they mistakenly believed that a life sentence would afford Terry a parole opportunity. Death and life-without-parole have been the only sentencing options for first degree homicide in Pennsylvania since the 1920s.

Terry's appeals options are exhausted, and his execution is scheduled for October 3. His attorneys are now asking the pardons board and Governor Corbett to commute Terry's sentence to life-without-parole. To be successful in that arena, the pardons board must first unanimously recommend a commutation. Governor Corbett must then agree and grant the commutation.

Support for commutation is strong and broad. Supporters include Norwood's widow, several jurors, 22 former prosecutors and judges, 34 law professors, 40 mental health experts, and more than three dozen faith leaders, including the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Philadelphia, Charles Chaput.

How can you help? Contact Governor Corbett directly and ask him to support clemency for Terry Williams. Sign the petition in support of clemency that currently has nearly 14,000 signatures. And learn more about the case at a website dedicated to Terry's plea for clemency.

Take action. A man's life depends on it.

Philadelphia Firefighters: Please call us!

We have received numerous calls from friends and family of Philadelphia firefighters regarding the city’s new social networking guidelines. We are happy to look into it, but we need to hear from firefighters themselves about how the policy directly affects them.

Please call our Philadelphia office at 215-592-1513 x501 and leave a message including your name and phone number. All calls are confidential and protected by attorney-client privilege. 

Philadelphia office seeks special event project consultant

The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania is holding its 2012 Bill of Rights Dinner, to be presented this year on October 10 at the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia. We are seeking an individual very experienced in events management to assist with planning and execution. The event is an annual awards banquet, this year recognizing Rep. Babette Josephs and Dechert LLP for contributions to protecting civil liberties. We expect about 275 people. The evening includes reception, silent auction, dinner and program. We need assistance with caterer, promotion, guest relations, program book, day-of-event, silent auction, and other tasks. This is a short-term, part-time, paid position in our Philadelphia office with flexible hours. Work on October 10, day of the event, is required. Interested individuals, please send letter and resume on or before August 27 to Bruce Makous at bmakous@aclupa.org; 215-592-1513 x118. ACLU of Pennsylvania is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. Women, people of color, persons with disabilities, ethnic and religious minorities, and LGBT persons are encouraged to apply.

ACLU-PA Philadelphia office seeks fellows for civil rights litigation

The ACLU of PA is looking for a couple of lawyers – young, old or “in transition”, as they say – willing to work FOR FREE at least half time in the ACLU’s Philadelphia office. The remuneration consists of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, popsicles, and eloquent recommendation letters, plus great camaraderie and exciting work on civil rights cases ranging from First Amendment to Fourteenth Amendment and everything in between.

Recent fellows have participated in trials, preliminary injunction hearings, Third Circuit briefing and arguments, and discovery, to name a few things.  Fellows are expected to manage their cases in consultation with the staff attorney. It is, in short, excellent experience and will provide you with great war stories for years to come. It’s also a great springboard to other work – our fellows find good jobs, which is why we need more now!

We need a commitment of at least 2-3 months for fellows.

The ACLU-PA also needs lawyers for less time-intensive work, especially experienced lawyers to help supervise intake and inquisitive types to help with monitoring the Philly police under our stop-and-frisk consent decree.

If you are interested, please send a resume to mroper@aclupa.org (and a writing sample, if you're applying for a fellowship) along with a cover letter or email explaining your availability and interest.

Independent study corroborates voter ID's disproportionate impact in Philadelphia

Tamara Manik-Perlman at Azavea compiled a great study of the disproportionate impact of voter ID in the Philadelphia region, using data provided by City Commissioner Stephanie Singer, the PA Department of State, and the 2010 Census. It's very much worth reading, and shows some interesting [read: disturbing] trends.


In particular, the geographic distribution of voters lacking ID is startling. The large purple splotch on the map above is the area around University City, known for high populations of college students and African Americans - two groups targeted for suppression by voter ID laws. The dark purple shows that, according to the Department of State's figures, sixty to eighty percent of voters in those districts may not have valid ID for voting.

Writes Manik-Perlman: 

The map makes clear that the spatial distribution of those who lack ID is non-random. Voters without ID are heavily concentrated around the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University in West Philadelphia, as well as parts of North, West and Southwest Philadelphia. The rates of voters without ID are relatively low in the Northeast, Northwest, Southeast and Center City.

Note that ACLU-PA had nothing to do with this study (in fact we only learned about it today, when Ms. Manik-Perlman tweeted it at us) and that, unlike most of the material we've been sharing in the last ten days, this study was not entered into evidence in our legal challenge against the voter ID law.