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The story of the second woman executed in Pa. history shows why the death penalty must end | Opinion

Seventy-five years after the death of Corrine Sykes, why do chance and politics still determine who lives?

Corrine Sykes, left, was a 22-year-old African American housemaid who became the second woman in Pennsylvania to die under the death penalty, in 1946. She was electrocuted. At right, Pennsylvania's electric chair in the early '50s. The same chair was used in all Pennsylvania executions. The large ventilator hood withdrew the smoke from burning skin.
Corrine Sykes, left, was a 22-year-old African American housemaid who became the second woman in Pennsylvania to die under the death penalty, in 1946. She was electrocuted. At right, Pennsylvania's electric chair in the early '50s. The same chair was used in all Pennsylvania executions. The large ventilator hood withdrew the smoke from burning skin.Read moreFrom the George D. McDowell Philadelphia Evening Bulletin Photograph Collection. Courtesy of the Special Collections Research Center. Temple University Libraries. Philadelphia, PA. + Pennsylvania Prison Society
    by Kathryn Canavan, For The Inquirer
    Published