Keystone Today

John Fetterman, a Democrat running for the US Senate in Pennsylvania, claims he has supported life in prison for first-degree murderers, but the Washington Free Beacon’s research found he voted to free more than a dozen first-degree murderers while serving on the Board of Pardons in Pennsylvania.

Fetterman, who faces Republican challenger Dr. Mehmet Oz in the November general election for a Keystone State US Senate seat, addressed his position on his website while noting that he would work for sentencing reform and would help develop diversion programs for nonviolent offenders.

“I believe in the power of a second chance, and for years, I have advocated for reforms to our too often unforgiving and vindictive justice system,” he said on his website, according to the social media post. 

The Free Beacon, a conservative website, claims online that Fetterman hasn’t always lived up to his words when he claims he supports life in prison for those convicted of first-degree murder.  The website notes that while serving as chairman of the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons, Fetterman reportedly agreed to release more than a dozen people serving life sentences for first-degree murder.  The website noted that in an interview with the PennLive editorial board, the candidate clarified that he supports some clemency for second-degree murder, but not first-degree murder. 

“We could reduce our prison population by a third, and not make anyone less safe,” Fetterman said in a video posted by Inmatesforfetterman.com, which lists the criminals allegedly freed by Fetterman. 

According to Manshoory Law Group, first-degree murder is generally accepted as the “unlawful killing of a human being, or a fetus, with malice and forethought.” The website also noted that the crime also includes premeditation, deliberation and intent.  

“I always want to err on the side of mercy... You age out of crime,” Fox News reported Fetterman saying during a press conference.

Moreover, Fox interviewed a Fetterman campaign spokesperson who pointed out that the candidate believes some people don’t deserve to spend life in prison for crimes committed when they were young, noting that the decision ultimately should be made by parole boards and judges and not politicians, while also pointing out that the Democrat doesn’t believe every single person convicted of second-degree murder should be released. 

The Free Beacon also alleged on its website that Fetterman used his seat on the board to “enact progressive criminal justice reform” while voting with the other board members to free a man convicted of first-degree murder in a 1977 slaying in Pittsburgh, in which the suspect was stabbed 26 times. The website also noted that he voted to free Alexis Rodriguez and John David Brookins, both convicted of first-degree murder, Rodriguez for killing the son of a police officer in 1989, and Brookins for slaying his girlfriend’s mother with a pair of scissors.