Pennsylvania post-conviction system plagued by endless delays and weak oversight

Nolan O’Neal, sentenced for a 2005 murder case, has been stuck in prison for nine years while his court-appointed lawyer, Scott Galloway, repeatedly sought extensions and filed only a brief two-page petition in 2022. A review of court records across all 67 counties shows that Pennsylvania’s post-conviction system imposes no timelines on appointed attorneys, permits unlimited extensions, and offers no training or qualification requirements.

Many counties contract lawyers at flat rates as low as $500 per case, with some paying as little as $25,000 annually for dozens of files, creating incentives to do minimal work. The lack of state funding forces counties to set their own pay structures, often resulting in inadequate supervision and prolonged delays. Cases like O’Neal’s illustrate a broader pattern where inmates must draft their own petitions and then wait years for appointed counsel to act, while judges frequently grant extensions without imposing deadlines.