Jun. 09, 2015
HARRISBURG — Rep. John Taylor (R-Philadelphia) has condemned Gov. Tom Wolf’s decision to give a reprieve to a death row inmate who was schedule to die June 5.
“Wolf has never found anything wrong in the case of Hubert Michael,” Taylor said. “There is no evidence of any judicial errors. I urge the governor to allow justice to run its course.
In February, Wolf imposed a moratorium on the death penalty in Pennsylvania as he awaits the findings of a task force studying the issue.
In response to the governor’s actions, the House Judiciary Committee passed
House Resolution 143 condemning Wolf’s actions, which now moves to the whole House for a vote. Taylor will support the resolution.
Michael was sentenced to death for the 1993 rape and murder of 16-year-old Trista Eng near Dillsburg in York County. He was scheduled to be executed June 5. Michael was out on bail for an unrelated rape charge in Lancaster County at the time of the murder.
Michael, who was living in a boarding house in Lemoyne at the time, picked Eng up as she walked to work at the Dillsburg Hardee's on Route 15. He drove her to a remote area of State Game Lands 242 and shot her three times with a .44 magnum.
Michael has never denied kidnapping Eng as she walked to her summer job, shooting her three times and hiding her body in the woods. Neither has Michael ever accepted full responsibility for raping Eng before killing her.
Eng’s family issued a public letter to the governor on Friday, telling him, “You stand in the way of thousands of victims who seek justice.” They asked him, “As a parent, would you fight for your daughter(s) if you were in our situation?”
“The governor is failing to administer the law,” Taylor said. “His decision to grant this reprieve is arbitrarily and only exacerbates the pain of the families left behind.”
Representative John Taylor
177th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: David Foster
267.207.0207
dfoster@pahousegop.com
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