It didn't take long for new Gov. Tom Wolf's moratorium on the death penalty in Pennsylvania to cause some reverberations.
The Democrat has been under fire from lawmen and prosecutors since making his announcement on Friday. Wolf said the Pennsylvania system of capital punishment was "error prone, expensive and anything but infallible."
He ordered a halt to the death penalty until he receives a report from a legislative committee that has been studying the issue and taking testimony for the last four years.
Now the convulsions from Wolf's edict are shaking some local courthouses.
The lawyers for a York County man charged in the death of a 7-month-old baby in Upper Darby indicated yesterday they would file motions to preclude the Delaware County District Attorney's Office from seeking the death penalty in the case, as they have stated they would.
Ummad Rushdi faces trial in the death of little Hamza Ali, whose body has never been recovered.
Mike Malloy, Rushdi's trial lawyer, and Scott Galloway, who will handle the death penalty phase, specifically referred to Wolf's moratorium.
Now it appears there will be a legal argument concerning whether the governor's position can prevent prosecutors from even seeking the death penalty, let alone see one carried out.
"It would be our position that the commonwealth would be seeking a penalty that can't be imposed," Galloway said.
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