About half of Pennsylvania’s death row of 240 inmates comes from Philadelphia. Yet in the 11 years that the Defender Association of Philadelphia has been handling capital cases, not one of their clients has been sentenced to death. The Defender Office handles one of every five capital cases in the city. The difference between life and death appears to rest with the quality of representation and often comes down to dollar and cents. “What is going on in Philadelphia is really a model example of what can be done when capital defense is adequately funded. In jurisdictions where the public defender received adequate funding … it makes a striking difference in the quality of defense that is provided,” said Terri Mascherin, chairwoman of the American Bar Association’s Death Penalty Representation Project. The Defender Association provides each client with 2 lawyers and a private investigator. In addition, a team of psychologists and mitigation experts explores evidence that might help jurors decide against a death sentence. By comparison, the court-appointed attorneys who still handle 80% of the capital cases in Philadelphia sometimes get as little as $2,000 for expenses and receive only $400 in fees for each day of trial. (Associated Press, April 6, 2004) See Representation.

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