THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD son-in-law, Daniel Gleason, who was killed in the line of duty while serving with the Philadelphia Police Dept. “The color blue is symbolic of peace,” Noonan said. “By display-
ing blue lights, you will show you support America’s law-enforcement officers. Any police officer passing by it on some dark, cold winter’s night will be warmed by the kindness it implies.”
Noonan said 93 members of the Pennsylvania State Police have been killed in the line of duty since the department’s founding in 1905.
Leach Hails Study Of State’s Death Penalty State Sen. Daylin Leach (DDelaware) was pleased the State Senate on Wednesday adopted SR 6, a measure that would create a bipartisan task force and advisory committee to study the capital punishment system in Pennsylvania. Leach, who previously drafted legislation that would repeal the death penalty, expressed satisfaction with the Senate resolution’s adoption. “It’s important to remember that the death penalty is a State program which, like all other programs, we must continually reevaluate,” Leach said. “Is it costeffective? Is it reliable? Does it ac-
complish its intended goals? These are all things that we need to examine, and I’m glad that my colleague Sen. Greenleaf offered a resolution to do so.” The task force will be comprised of four appointed senators and the advisory committee will consist of 30 members who have expertise in the state’s criminal justice system. To complete the study, the task force and advisory committee will receive assistance from the Justice Center for Research at Penn State, the Pennsylvania Interbranch Commission on Gender, Racial and Ethnic Fairness and the Pennsylvania Joint State Government Commission.
The study will address issues that could impact the effectiveness of the capital punishment system including cost, bias and unfairness, proportionality of crime to sentence, impact on and services for family members, mental illness and mental retardation, fairness of juries, the quality of counsel provided to capital defendants, alternatives, public opinion and other concerns. Leach noted that in 2007, the American Bar Association of Pennsylvania reported that Pennsylvania’s capital punishment system is racially and economically biased and runs the risk of executing innocent people.
Law Would Outlaw Painful Gas Chambers For Pets Through the efforts of State Senator Andy Dinniman and the passionate voices of animal advocates throughout the state, Daniel’s Law advanced in the Pennsylvania Senate, unanimously passing the Senate Ag and Rural Affairs Committee this week. The law will make it a crime for animals to be euthanized in a carbon dioxide gas chamber. Daniel’s Law was named after Daniel the beagle (http://www.danielthebeagle.com),
who survived an Alabama carbon monoxide gas chamber this fall. Since surviving the experience, Daniel has been adopted by New Jersey dog trainer Joseph Dwyer, and has embarked on a trail of animal advocacy that has taken him from the Statehouse to animal rights rallies to the Anderson Cooper television program. “Today is an important victory for thousands of animals in Pennsylvania, yet there are more than 30 other states that still permit the gas
chamber and other inhumane forms of animal euthanasia. These animals need someone to advocate for them,” said Dwyer. A listing of states that have banned this form of animal euthanasia, as well as those who allow carbon dioxide gas chambers, is available at http://www.danielthebeagle.com. Named after the Biblical figure who survived the lion’s den, Daniel is on a state-by-state mission to outlaw inhumane forms of animal euthanasia and promote an-
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