PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The Philadelphia district attorney’s office says it is appealing a judge’s order that overturned the death sentence for a man convicted of killing a city police officer in 1991.
Common Pleas Judge M. Teresa Sarmina earlier this month ruled that 50-year-old Edward Bracey has below-average intellectual functioning. The U.S. Supreme Court has barred as unconstitutional the execution of anyone deemed mentally disabled.
A spokeswoman for District Attorney Seth Williams tells The Philadelphia Inquirer (https://bit.ly/1byOoXX) that Bracey will remain on death row throughout the duration of the appeal.
Bracey’s sentence is now life in prison without possibility of parole in the murder of 21-year-old officer Daniel Boyle. Authorities said Bracey was driving a stolen car and fatally shot Boyle when the rookie officer tried to pull him over.
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Information from: The Philadelphia Inquirer, https://www.inquirer.com
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