Harrisburg, PA – Department of Corrections Secretary John Wetzel, yesterday, signed a Notice of Execution setting June 2, 2020, for the execution of Tam Le.
In December 2016, Le was sentenced to death in Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas for the 2014 killings of two brothers, Vu and Viet Huynh. The brothers were stabbed and beaten and then dumped into the Schuylkill River. Le also was sentenced to a consecutive 30 to 60 years for attempted murder and conspiracy charges.
The law provides that when the governor does not sign a warrant of execution within the specified time period, the secretary of corrections has 30 days within which to issue a notice of execution.
The General Assembly has yet to address the inadequacies in the death penalty system as detailed in the Joint State Government Commission report issued in 2018.
Governor Wolf issues temporary reprieves if a warrant reaches his desk without further appeals. We are not yet at that point in this case.
Any remaining appeals or stays an individual pursues would be part of the court case, and questions pertaining to those appeals or stays would be best directed to the individual's attorneys.
Media contact: Susan McNaughton, smcnaughto@pa.gov
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