case tracking

Few people realize that no state agency keeps track of the number of cases in which prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in Pennsylvania. ACCR had to create its own case-tracking database, which continues to expand as a resource for advocates, defense teams, and the media. Since 2011, ACCR’s database has tracked every capital case in Pennsylvania from start to disposition in order to provide a comprehensive picture of the gradual changes that ACCR and other defenders have worked so hard to achieve. In the nine years that the database has been active, we’ve recorded only 26 death sentences out of 530 death-eligible cases. Today, this resource is still evolving to be even more inclusive and effective in collecting and dispersing this critical data, especially in Pennsylvania’s most punitive and systemically biased counties.