HARRISBURG -- A new coalition of religious leaders, state legislators, civil libertarians, former death-row inmates and even murder victims' family members stepped forward yesterday to urge the state Legislature to enact a two-year moratorium on executions in Pennsylvania until the current death penalty system is thoroughly reviewed.

"There is a growing consensus in this country and in our state that as a matter of public policy, the death penalty is not working," said one of the group's leaders, state Sen. Jim Ferlo, D-Highland Park.

"Unequal justice is being meted out in Pennsylvania," he said. "The system is so riddled with flaws that even those who philosophically believe the death penalty is acceptable are expressing concerns and, in some cases, deciding to halt executions."

Mr. Ferlo is part of the Pennsylvania Moratorium Coalition, which will sponsor a bill in the Senate calling for a two-year halt in executions until a new six-member panel does a study to see if the death penalty is being applied fairly.

The coalition cited concerns about racial bias, incompetent counsel for poor defendants, "geographic disparities" -- meaning a lot of death-penalty convictions from Philadelphia -- "police and prosecutorial misconduct" and other problems as reasons for suspending executions until a study is done.

The current system "risks executing the innocent, is unfairly applied and is plagued by arbitrariness and error," said Andy Hoover of the American Civil Liberties Union. "It's time to take a step back and really look at how the whole process is working. Pennsylvanians recognize that the death penalty is broken."

Mr. Ferlo said the need for such a study is clear because, since 1986, six former death-row inmates have been freed "after incontrovertible evidence proved them innocent."

ACLU legislative director Larry Frankel said that dozens of convictions have been overturned based on "inadequate legal counsel" for a defendant or a defendant's "inadequate resources" to hire qualified attorneys, which could lead to innocent people being executed. He said this situation is another reason why a study is needed.

Mr. Ferlo normally sides with Gov. Ed Rendell, a fellow Democrat, on state issues, but the governor said yesterday he didn't see a need for such a moratorium.

Mr. Rendell, who was Philadelphia district attorney in the 1970s and early '80s, maintained that the state already has "a de facto moratorium," meaning no death-row inmates have been executed for years, while they are still appealing their convictions.

The only reason an inmate would be executed would be if he decided to end his legal appeals and agrees to be put to death, he said.

The last time Pennsylvania executed a prisoner on death row was 1999 -- Gary Heidnik, a torture-killer from Philadelphia, who had stopped making appeals of his conviction. The length of time -- eight years -- that has elapsed since that execution was another reason the governor had for believing that there is a de facto moratorium on executions.

Asked about the governor's opposition, Mr. Ferlo said, "I am very disappointed in the Neanderthal view of the governor."

Then, about 10 minutes later, Mr. Ferlo took a more conciliatory stance, saying: "The governor has been a progressive voice on many issues, and we are asking him to look into his heart and revisit this issue."