[ [link removed] ]John Fetterman


John,

One of the things I believe in most strongly is the power of a second
chance. So I wanted to take a moment today, as the Pennsylvania Board of
Pardons convenes, to tell you why:

I believe that one bad decision should not define a person. In my years in
public service, I have advocated for reforms to our unforgiving and
vindictive legal system. I have fought hard for second chances for
Pennsylvanians — and one of my proudest accomplishments has been
delivering them.

In America, we’ve unfortunately got the punishment part down pat. But we
should not be a society about vengeance, we should be a society about
redemption. What we need to do is fundamentally shift the justice system
by bringing redemption to the forefront and making sure that second
chances are possible in this country.

When I became Lieutenant Governor in 2019, I also became the Chair of the
Board of Pardons here in Pennsylvania. I saw firsthand just how random,
arbitrary, and punitive the system actually was. The closer you are to the
system, the more injustices you see. So I immediately got to work to do
what I could to make the system more just.

In the nearly three years since taking office, I’ve worked to completely
reinvent our broken pardon and commutation process in PA. I eliminated
application fees which led to an about 500% increase in pardon
applications. I established an expedited cannabis-related pardon program
to speed up the pardon process for those with nonviolent cannabis-related
convictions — which, frankly, shouldn’t even be considered crimes to begin
with. I also commissioned a report by the Philadelphia Lawyers for Social
Equity that clearly spelled out the need to abolish Pennsylvania's
horrible and immoral practice of sentencing people to mandatory
life-without-parole for second-degree “felony” murder convictions.

[ [link removed] ]Corry Sanders

Corry Sanders won a McKeesport council seat in 2015. He was denied from
taking office due to a 1993 drug conviction. In 2019, I took over the
Board of Pardons + got his pardon to Governor Wolf’s desk.

Back when I was Mayor of Braddock, I heard the story of Corry Sanders, a
father of four who owns a barbershop in McKeesport. In 2015, Corry was
elected to serve on the McKeesport City Council but was barred from
serving because of a 1993 drug charge.

It was absurd. This was a man who served time and did everything right
after his release. He started a business, he started a family but was
still held back by something from nearly 25 years prior. There is no
clearer evidence that our system is not built to allow for redemption.

Before I was elected Lieutenant Governor, I called on the Governor to
pardon Corry. Unfortunately, Corry’s application did not make it
successfully from the Board to the Governor’s desk under my predecessor.
When I became Lieutenant Governor, I saw to it that Corry’s application
got to the Governor’s desk and was approved.

I’ve also had the opportunity to support second chances for more deserving
lifers — Pennsylvanians serving life sentences without the possibility of
parole — than in the previous 25 years combined. This means fewer people
in our prison system and more families and communities reunited.

[ [link removed] ]Wyatt and Reid

Wyatt (left) and Reid were barely 18 & 19 when they went to prison for a
robbery after the victim tragically died of a heart attack.

I also worked to ensure that Reid and Wyatt Evans, who each served 37
years in prison, were granted clemency and allowed to return home to their
families and communities. The Evans brothers went to prison for a robbery
that went south when the victim, Leonard Leichter, suffered a heart
attack. Despite never having intentionally taken a life, these men were
sentenced to die in prison. I knew in my heart that it was wrong. Through
tireless efforts from advocacy groups and even Nancy Leichter, the
daughter of the victim, advocating for their release, we were successful
in our fight for freedom for the Evans Brothers. Wyatt and Reid were
finally released earlier this year.

[ [link removed] ]Dennis and Lee Horton on FaceTime

Happy tears facetiming with Dennis and Lee Horton on the day of their
release—after 27 years in prison.

One of my favorite stories of second chances is that of Dennis and Lee
Horton, who were charged with murder in 1993 after one of their friends
robbed a bar and shot and killed someone in the process. Dennis and Lee
were implicated by guilt through association. They were offered a plea
that would have meant a prison sentence of under 10 years, but they
rejected it because they knew they did not commit the crime. So they took
their chances at trial and were convicted of second-degree murder. And in
Pennsylvania, that’s an automatic sentence of life without parole — death
by incarceration. The superintendent of their prison even came to the
hearing and begged the Board to grant them clemency.

And I took every exertion possible to make sure that Lee and Dennis got a
chance to get their lives back and be reunited with their family. I cannot
imagine the trauma, the horror, and the heartbreak, to have grown up with
your father in prison for a crime that he didn’t commit. I cannot imagine
how it feels to watch your sons spend 27 years locked up for something
they didn’t do. Or, to be unjustly separated by prison walls from your
twin — as was the case for Dennis — for all those years.

Like the Evans brothers, Dennis and Lee were released from prison earlier
this year. I keep their photo as the background on my phone as a reminder
of how important this work is.

I’ve also always felt that these individuals who have seen the legal
system firsthand and know it better than anyone should have a voice in the
fight to make our system one that more closely resembles justice. In my
office, I made a point to hire formerly incarcerated individuals who have
a unique perspective and knowledge of the system to help with the pardon
and commutation process.

[ [link removed] ]Brandon Flood

Brandon Flood earned a pardon from the Board he now helps lead.

Back in 2019, I led a push to appoint Brandon Flood to be the Secretary of
the Board of Pardons. Brandon had also recently earned a pardon for past
convictions from the very Board he now helps lead. I also hired two former
“Lifers,” George Trudel and Naomi Blount Wilson, who had recently received
clemency for their life sentences, to work in my office and help people
apply for commutation and work their way through the process.

[ [link removed] ]Naomi and George

I hired former “Lifers” Naomi Blunt Wilson and George Trudel to work in my
office.

And earlier this year, the Horton brothers — just months out of prison —
joined me in my campaign for U.S. Senate. Dennis and Lee are working as
field organizers talking to Pennsylvanians across the state about the
campaign and the work we’re going to do together when I’m elected.

[ [link removed] ]John, Dennis, and Lee in Philly

The Horton Brothers have joined me in my campaign for U.S. Senate as field
organizers, talking to Pennsylvanians across the state about how we’re
going to reform our legal system. Here they are telling their story at our
event in Philadelphia on Monday. 

I strongly feel that the people who know the issues and have lived
experience with our legal system best are most equipped to help reform it.

I feel so lucky to have come to know the Horton Brothers and to be able to
have them as vital members of my campaign team.

I feel so lucky to have successfully advocated for the Evans brothers and
to be able to watch them continue their life after nearly 40 years behind
bars.

I feel so lucky to have come to know Corry and to see him now planning a
run for Mayor.

Stories like these are exactly why I do the work that I do, why I chose to
first run for office back in 2005, why I ran for Lt. Governor, and why I
am running now for the U.S. Senate. There is nothing finer that I could do
in my public life than to make sure our community members like Dennis,
Lee, Wyatt, Reid, and Corry get a second chance.

I believe in second chances for so many more people like them who are
stuck in our overly punitive system. I believe in second chances for
Pennsylvania. And you can be damn sure I’ll keep fighting for them. [ [link removed] ]If
you're with me in that fight, I'd be humbled to have your support as we
fight together to change this country for the better. Thank you.

[ [link removed] ]Contribute

Thanks for reading all of that. I deeply appreciate your commitment to
this work, and I'm so proud that you're alongside me in this campaign.

More from me soon,

John

John Fetterman
Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania


 


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