Proponents said the measure approved last month by the Legislature without debate would end what they call the commonwealth's stigma as the only state without such a law.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett addresses a news conference on restored education funding to the state budget Friday in Harrisburg.Gov. Tom Corbett has signed a bill allowing expert witnesses to testify for the prosecution in sexual assault cases in Pennsylvania.
Proponents said the measure approved last month by the Legislature without debate would end what they call the commonwealth’s stigma as the only state without such a law.
Sponsors said the legislation would allow expert witnesses to help victims at trial by describing for jurors the dynamics of sexual violence and — for example — offer possible explanations for why a victim did not immediately report the attack to police or go to a hospital.
Corbett said at Tuesday’s ceremonial signing at the Harrisburg YMCA’s Violence Intervention Prevention Program center that “the law needs truth, but it also needs context.”
The measure goes into effect Aug. 28.