As reported in this local article, headlined "Wolf commutes eight, brings clemency total to 19, the third-highest among Pa. governors," the Governor of Pennsylvania is making some notable use of his clemency powers. Here are the details:
With the stroke of a pen on Thursday, Gov. Tom Wolf cut short sentences for eight people serving life in Pennsylvania prisons. Wolf signed off on eight commutations on Thursday, according to a statement by his office — an action that will allow the recipients to walk free after spending decades incarcerated.
All of the individuals who received commutations had the unanimous endorsement of Pennsylvania’s Board of Pardons, a five-member board that hears clemency applications. “The [pardoned] individuals have used their time in prison to rehabilitate themselves, remained largely free of any incident, and show remorse for their actions and victims,” Wolf’s spokesman, J.J. Abbott, said in a written statement.
All eight commutation recipients must spend one year in Community Corrections Centers before they can return to their families and communities, Abbott said. They will then remain under parole supervision for the rest of their lives.
The state Board of Pardons logged its busiest day in decades this September when it voted to send nine commutation applications to Wolf’s desk. Wolf deferred signing off on one of those applications — that of Charles Goldblum, who has served nearly four decades in state prison for his role in the 1976 murder of George Wilhelm in downtown Pittsburgh.
Wolf did not say in his release why he decided to hold Goldblum’s application under further consideration. Goldblum, who has maintained his innocence for five decades, has already applied seven times to have his life sentence commuted. Each time, Wilhelm’s family has asked the Pardons Board to deny his bid for mercy.
Since taking office in 2015, Wolf has sought to reverse a decades-long trend that saw commutations grind to a near-halt in Pennsylvania. He’s had assistance from Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, who took the helm of the Pardons Board when he was sworn in as Wolf’s deputy in January 2019.... Prior to Thursday, Wolf had already signed more commutation orders than his last four predecessors combined.
The eight most recent pardons bring his total number of commutations to 19 — the third-highest total of any Pennsylvania governor besides Milton Shapp, who commuted 250 life sentences between 1971 and 1979, and Bob Casey, who granted 27 between 1987-1994
UPDATE: This AP piece, headlined "Gov. Wolf approved inmate’s release after he served nearly 30 years; now he faces old shoplifting charge," provides a somewhat dispiriting follow-up. Here are the basics:
The debate over criminal justice reform and second chances grew heated Friday when a lifer freed by the Pennsylvania governor remained jailed over a lame-duck prosecutor’s efforts to hold him on a 1992 shoplifting charge involving stolen jeans.
David Sheppard, 54, had served nearly 30 years for his role in a fatal robbery that took the life of a beloved pharmacist in West Philadelphia. Sheppard was not the gunman, but was serving life for felony murder before the state pardons board and governor approved his release.
Hours before he was to leave prison Friday, outgoing Delaware County District Attorney Katayoun M. Copeland filed the detainer over his failure to show for court decades ago in the stolen jeans case.
"This store went out of business 25 years ago, and even got the items back," said Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, who chairs the five-member pardons board and called Copeland's tactic an abuse of power. "It's just about cruelty, saying I want to keep this guy locked up over Christmas, his first Christmas out, an individual who never took a life and served 30 years for his proximity to the crime. It's just vindictiveness."...
Copeland did not return phone messages Friday from The Associated Press, but in a statement said she opposed Sheppard's release because the victim's family was never notified about his petition. "The issue here is not about a shoplifting charge, it is the complete failure of the criminal justice system to give victims and their families a voice," Copeland said, echoing criticism that's been fired repeatedly at Krasner as he's implemented reforms. "Convicted felons are being empowered and extended leniency at the direct expense of victims and their families."...
Copeland, a Republican appointed last year when her predecessor became a judge, lost this month's election to Jack Stollsteimer, the first Democrat ever elected district attorney in the county's history. He promised to take a hard look at the case when he takes office in January. "Somebody's going to have to convince me that it is in the interest of justice that we are prosecuting this man for a 27-year-old retail theft," he said.
A judge, though, may beat him to it. Sheppard is expected to be brought to court Monday for a bail hearing on the shoplifting charge.
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