Democrat John Fetterman Plays Defense After Criminal-Friendly Record Exposed

The Democrat nominee for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, John Fetterman, is going on the defensive regarding his stance on public safety after his criminal-friendly record was exposed.

On Tuesday, Fetterman released a campaign ad touting his public safety record as mayor of Braddock.

“Doc Oz in his Gucci loafers is attacking me on crime. Dr. Oz wouldn’t last two hours here in Braddock,” Fetterman states in the 30-second clip.

“Public safety is why I ran for office,” he adds. “When two of my students were murdered, I ran for mayor to stop the violence. I worked side-by-side with the police, showed up at the crime scenes. We did whatever it took to fund our police and stopped gun deaths for five years.”

The campaign video follows the surfacing of a clip where he states that emptying Pennsylvania prisons by a third would not make citizens “any less safe.” It also comes on the heels of reports concerning his record of working to release convicted murderers and others facing life sentences back on the streets.

Earlier this month, Fox News uncovered a clip where Fetterman asserted emptying the state’s prisons by one-third would not pose any more danger to the public than keeping the convicted criminals locked behind bars. He made the comments in a zoom call that was posted to YouTube in 2020, and he apparently cites former corrections director John Wetzel:

I was on a panel with Secretary [John] Wetzel earlier before the pandemic hit, and he said something remarkable that I agree with. He said, ‘We could reduce our prison population by a third and not make anyone less safe in Pennsylvania,’ and that’s a profound statement.

As the sitting lieutenant governor in the Quaker State, Fetterman serves as chairman of the five-person Board of Pardons. Since he assumed office in 2019, commutation recommendations from the board to Gov. Tom Wolf (D) have skyrocketed. The board has sent at least 46 suggestions for commutations to Wolf during Fetterman’s chairmanship, the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Julia Terruso reported in May.

“That’s compared with just six in Wolf’s first term, none under former Republican Gov. Tom Corbett’s one term, and only five during former Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell’s eight years in office,” she wrote.

Of note, the board requires a unanimous vote to recommend commuting a sentence, though not all members need to vote, meaning a 4-0 vote is good enough for a recommendation to the governor.

In February 2021, Wolf announced he had signed 13 commutations for convicted murderers the Fetterman-led board suggested:

• George W. Burkhardt, 83, Lancaster, served 30 years for Murder 2, recommended in Dec. 2020
• Daniel Cummings, 75, Philadelphia, served 38 years for Murder 1, recommended in Sept. 2020
• Eric I. Eisen, 52, Allegheny, served 26 years for Murder 2, recommended in Dec. 2020
• Reid Evans, 57, Philadelphia, served 39 years for Murder 2, recommended in Sept. 2020
• Wyatt Evans, 58, Philadelphia, served 39 years for Murder 2, recommended in Sept. 2020
• Charlie J. Goldblum, 71, Allegheny, served 42 years for Murder 1, recommended in Sept. 2019
• Charles M. Haas, 72, Philadelphia, served 41 years for Murder 2, recommended in Dec. 2020
• Dennis Horton, 51, Philadelphia, served 27 years for Murder 2, recommended in Dec. 2020
• Lee A. Horton, 55, Philadelphia, served 27 years for Murder 2, recommended in Dec. 2020
• Avis Lee, 59, Allegheny, served 40 years for Murder 2, recommended in Sept. 2020
• Francisco Mojita, Sr., 58, Philadelphia, served 28 years for Murder 2, recommended in Sept. 2020
• Mildred Strickland, 75, Philadelphia, served 31 years for Murder 1, recommended in Sept. 2020
• Gregory Stover, 55, Philadelphia, served 32 years for Murder 1, recommended in Sept. 2020

“Each of these Pennsylvanians is fully deserving of the chance to return to their families and start a new life,” said Fetterman in the release. It remains unclear how many of the individuals he voted for, as some recommendations did not have five votes. However, the Washington Free Beacon reported he “has voted to release more criminals sentenced to life in prison than any other member of the panel.”