Links and brief description at top and full articles below.
Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell commutes sentences in 3 murder cases By the Associated Press Published Thursday December 30, 2010
Three Pennsylvania prison inmates who had been serving life terms for murder are closer to being released since Gov. Ed Rendell signed clemency orders today that reduced their sentences. Rendell signed commutation warrants for Keith O. Smith, 55, William Fultz, 58, and Tyrone A. Werts, 60, who have each served decades in state prison after being convicted for roles in separate Philadelphia slayings in the 1970s. Read More...
Clemency ruling delayed for lifers in PA prison
by Michael Rubinkam Associated Press Writer – Harrisburg, PA - Originally published September 3, 2009
Two Pennsylvania inmates who have won plaudits for their decades-long efforts to reduce prison violence and counsel troubled youths will have to wait a little longer to hear whether their life sentences will be commuted. Read More...
In a rarity, Rendell commutes a life sentence
by Larry King. Wednesday, June 17, 2009
The Philadelphia Inquirer has an interesting article, "In a rarity, Rendell commutes a life sentence," because it examines the changed landscape of clemency. Though the article focuses on Pennsylvania, clemency in most states is rarely used in ways that the process routinely was in the past On June 2, Gov. Rendell performed what has become one of the rarest acts for a Pennsylvania governor. Read More...
Full Articles Below ------------------------->
Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell commutes sentences in 3 murder cases By the Associated press Pubished Thursday December 30th, 2010
Lifers Incorporated Commutation Committee Information Sheet
December 21, 2010 BY, Mikal “Smokey” Wilson, Chairman
WHAT IS COMMUTATION?
Commutation is the change of a sentence of a less severe punishment and like clemency it is a mercy dispensing act. If commutation is granted it results in a change of sentence. A life sentence for example, could be changed to 25 years to life.
The Pennsylvania General Assembly, Special Session No. 1 of 1995, yielded a change to Article 4, Section 9, of the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons in the case of an inmate sentenced to Article 4, Section 9, of the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons in the case of an inmate sentenced to death or life imprisonment and has raised the threshold for commutation from the previous “requirement” that a petitioner only needed a majority vote of the Board of Pardons members to a more onerous unanimous vote to support his or her commutation petition. This change has greatly reduced the likelihood that a commutation will reach the Governor’s desk for final approval.
During the twelve years from January 1967 to January 1979, the commutation was granted to 346 life sentence inmate in Pennsylvania. In the last 25 ½ years a total of only 36 commutations ave been granted to life sentence inmates:
APPLICATIONS FOR COMMUTATION OF LIFE SENTENCE
SHAFER ADMINISTRATION (1967-1971)
HEARD BY THE BOARD OF PARDONS:
RECOMMENDED TO THE GOVERNOR
GRANTED BY THE GOVERNOR: 94
SHARP ADMINISTRATION (1971-1978)
HEARD BY THE BOARD OF PARDONS: 733
RECOMMENDED TO THE GOVERNOR: 267
GRANTED BY THE GOVERNOR: 251
THORNBURGH ADMINISTRATION (1979-1986)
HEARD BY THE BOARD OF PARDONS: 373
RECOMMENDED TO THE GOVERNOR: 75
GRANTED BY THE GOVERNOR: 7
CASEY ADMINISTRATION (1987-1994)
HEARD BY THE BOARD OF PARDONS: 249
RECOMMENDED TO THE GOVERNOR: 118
GRANTED BY THE GOVERNOR: 27 (2 FEMALES)
RIDGE ADMINISTRATION (1995-2001)
HEARD BY THE BOARD OF PARDONS: 15
RECOMMENDED TO THE GOVERNOR: 4
GRANTED BY THE GOVERNOR: 1
SCHWEIKER ADMINISTRATION (2001-2003)
HEARD BY THE BOARD OF PARDONS: 2
RECOMMENDED TO THE GOVERNOR: 1
GRANTED BY THE GOVERNOR: 1
RENDELL ADMINISTRATION (2003-PRESENT)
HEARD BY THE BOARD OF PARDONS: 10
RECOMMENDED TO THE GOVERNOR: 2
GRANTED BY THE GOVERNOR: 2
The commutation process (release valve) for returning life sentence individuals to society had been curtailed in recent years due to the changes. There has been a total of 382 inmates that have been granted commutation in Pennsylvania. These individuals today are on parole and have a remarkably low rate of recidivism. Much less compared to other parolees. The percentage of lifers returning to prison in Pennsylvania, for the same offense is less than 1.5%.
The current commutation policy of not approving any lifers for commutation by the Governor is a frustration of the whole constitutional purpose of the Board. Under the Casey Administration, sentences of 27 lifers were commuted. Before that the Thornburgh Administration commuted lifers as did every Governor for over the last century. It must be recognized that not all those convicted of murder should be treated the same. Some are innocent of murder; some were not the triggermen, but merely an accomplice with no foreknowledge; some are women who killed abusive spouses or boyfriends; some were youths when they committed the murder, but now, after decades of imprisonment, they have become model prisoners; or some are just too old and too feeble to ever be a threat to society. There are more inmates doing life imprisonment for first degree murder than there are doing life imprisonment second degree murder. Obviously, judges and juries thought those convicted of second degree murder did not commit intentional, premeditated murder. Yet, the term of imprisonment is the same.
NO EXIT: THE EXPANDING USE OF LIFE SENTENCES IN AMERICA
A new report released July 2009, by the Sentencing Project finds a record 140,610 individuals are now serving life sentences in state and federal prisons, 6,807 of whom were juveniles at the time of the crime. In addition, 29% of the persons serving a life sentence (41,095) have no possibility of parole, and 1,755 were juveniles at the time of the crime.
No Exit: The Expanding Use of Life Sentences in America represents the first nationwide collection of life sentence date documenting race, ethnicity and gender. The report’s findings reveal overwhelming racial and ethnic disparities in the allocation of life sentences: 66% of all persons sentenced to life are non-white, and 77% of juveniles serving life sentences are non-white. Pennsylvania leads the nation with 345 juveniles serving sentences of life without parole.
The dramatic growth in life sentences is not primarily a result of higher crime rates, but of policy changes that have imposed harsher punishments and restricted parole consideration.
Source: Sentencing Project
IF YOU FILED AND APPLICATION FOR COMMUTATION
YOU MAY BE ELIGIBLE FOR FEDERALLY APPOINTED COUNSEL ???
The United States Supreme Court in Harbison v. Bell, 129 S. Ct. 1181 (2009), tuled that: 18 U.S.C. Section 3559(c) which authorize federally appointed counsel in proceedings for executive or “other” clemency proceedings, as may be available to the defendant encompasses federal counsel’s representation in state clemency proceedings, and that the federal statute does not require a state prisoner to first obtain a certificate of appealability (COA) before challenging and adverse District Court ruling from the denial of requests for federally appointed counsel pursuant to Section 3559(e). Caveat: This is untested territory!
Life Sentencing Policy In The United States
Life Sentences and LWOP Sentences
Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Wisconsin, Wyoming
Only LWOP Sentences
Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Federal
Only Parole Eligible Life Sentences
Alaska
In six states – Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Pennsylvania, and South Dakota – and the federal system*, all life sentences are imposed without the possibility of parole. Only Alaska provides the possibility of parole for all life sentences, while the remaining 42 states have laws that permit sentencing most defendants to life with or without parole.
*Parole is no longer an option on the federal system, as of 1987. The 886 individuals serving parole-eligible life sentences in the federal system were sentenced before parole was eliminated in 1987.
Source: The Sentencing Project
Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell commutes sentences in 3 murder cases By the Associated press Pubished Thursday December 30th, 2010
Three Pennsylvania prison inmates who had been serving life terms for murder are closer to being released since Gov. Ed Rendell signed clemency orders today that reduced their sentences. Rendell signed commutation warrants for Keith O. Smith, 55, William Fultz, 58, and Tyrone A. Werts, 60, who have each served decades in state prison after being convicted for roles in separate Philadelphia slayings in the 1970s.
The governor's decision followed unanimous recommendations from the Pardons Board this month in favor of commutation, and he cited the "ancillary roles" the men played in their respective crimes. "In each case, those who played a more significant role received the same or lighter sentences, or ended up serving shorter terms," the governor's office said in a news release.
Prison officials said it is difficult to predict how soon the men will be sent to the halfway houses where they must spend at least a year before being released on lifelong parole. Rendell imposed the condition that, if the men are convicted of a criminal offense or violate parole, their commutation may be revoked.
The Pardons Board voted 4-0 on Dec. 14 to recommend the commutations, with its fifth member, Attorney General Tom Corbett, the governor-elect, absent. Corbett's spokesman did not return messages seeking comment Thursday.
It was the first time the board had voted to commute a life sentence in six years, and the votes only occurred after the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in October upheld a 1997 state constitutional amendment requiring unanimous votes for lifers or people on death row.
In Rendell's news release, he said Werts, now incarcerated in Graterford State Prison, was convicted of second-degree murder, robbery, conspiracy and other offenses for his role in the 1975 slaying of a man at a Philadelphia gambling house.
Werts told the Pardons Board he was waiting in the vehicle when the victim was killed. "Afraid, I drove away from the scene and dropped everyone off at his respective home," he wrote in his clemency application. "As much as I tried to minimize my role, the fact of the matter was, I was as guilty as if I had pulled the trigger myself."
Rendell said Fultz, also at Graterford, disposed of a weapon used in a 1974 killing in Philadelphia. He was convicted of first-degree murder.
In his clemency application, Fultz wrote: "I accept the responsibility, I was 22 years old, a young male not a man mentally, I didn't know myself."
The governor said Smith, a Chester State Prison inmate who was convicted of second-degree murder, robbery and conspiracy, served as a lookout during a 1974 robbery that led to the killing of a Philadelphia flower shop owner.
Smith wrote in his clemency application that he "squandered away my life, 32 years ago, by agreeing to become involved in a crime that cost a man his life and robbed his family of their husband and father or perhaps, son or brother. I am truly sorry."
Rendell, now in his final month in office after eight years, previously commuted two other life sentences, those of George Gregory Orlowski and Michael Howard Anderson.
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Clemency ruling delayed for lifers By MICHAEL RUBINKAM
Associated Press Writer HARRISBURG, Pa. — Originally published Sept. 3, 2009
Two Pennsylvania inmates who have won plaudits for their decades-long efforts to reduce prison violence and counsel troubled youths will have to wait a little longer to hear whether their life sentences will be commuted.
The inmates, convicted murderers Tyrone Werts and William Fultz, were the first lifers to go before the state Board of Pardons since a federal judge decided that thousands of Pennsylvania inmates sentenced to life should have an easier path toward clemency.
U.S. District Judge A. Richard Caputo ruled June 11 in a lawsuit seeking to overturn a 1997 state constitutional amendment that toughened commutation standards for lifers. The pardons board has appealed the ruling, leading to Thursday's vote to delay a clemency decision for Werts and Fultz until the appeal is decided.
The inmates' supporters, who had anticipated that the board would vote to recommend commutation to the governor, said they were stunned and disappointed.
"This is heartbreaking. This is rough. I can't believe it," said the Rev. Paul Werts, who presented his brother's case. "I expected a yes."
Despite their good deeds in prison, the pair faced incredibly steep odds. Only three life sentences have been commuted since 1997, when Pennsylvania voters - outraged over a killing at the hands of a commuted inmate - amended the state constitution. Clemency for lifers hasn't been common in Pennsylvania since the 1970s, when then-Gov. Milton Shapp freed 251 inmates.
The 1997 amendment requires that inmates sentenced to life must receive a unanimous vote of the five-member pardons board before the governor may consider their commutation request - giving a single board member the power to block any inmate's bid. Before then, lifers needed only a majority vote to get their case before the governor.
Opponents of the referendum argue it deprives lifers of any meaningful chance to win clemency. Pennsylvania leads the nation in the number of inmates serving life sentences who were juveniles when they committed their crimes. It's also one of only six states in which a life sentence automatically means life without parole - so commutation is the only way lifers who have already spent decades behind bars can get out of prison.
"You can't have a right without a remedy," said Philadelphia attorney Stephen Whinston, who represents the Pennsylvania Prison Society, a prisoner advocacy group, in its long-running legal bid to get the amendment declared unconstitutional.
In his ruling, Caputo said the pardons board may not apply the tougher 1997 standard to inmates who committed their crimes before 1997 because the U.S. Constitution forbids ex post facto punishment. The decision - the latest ruling in the prison society's 12-year-old lawsuit - could affect more than 3,000 of the 4,868 lifers in the state's prisons.
The pardons board has asked the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn the lower court ruling. The board also asked to Caputo to stay his decision while the circuit court appeal is heard - meaning it could continue to operate under its preferred unanimity standard - but Caputo did not act on the request in time for the hearing.
Lt. Gov. Joe Scarnati, the pardon board's chairman, said Thursday that the board had little choice but to delay decisions on Werts and Fultz because of the uncertainty over which legal standard it should use.
"We're not clear if we need three votes or a unanimous vote in order to pardon these two lifers. And to take a vote that may conflict with a court ruling weeks down the road, I think, would be inappropriate," he said.
The 1997 amendment was part of an anti-crime package advocated by then-Gov. Tom Ridge in the wake of a decision by his predecessor, Robert Casey, to grant clemency to convicted killer Reginald McFadden. After he was released, McFadden killed two people in New York and raped a third.
Supporters of the amendment say the murderers who make up Pennsylvania's lifer population should face a high hurdle to freedom.
"We owe it to the victims and to society to ensure that while we do offer an avenue to clemency, it has to be a very high threshold," said Michael Piecuch, a former prosecutor and executive director of the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association. Clemency, he noted, is "not a right, it's not an entitlement."
Indeed, the family of Werts' victim, William Bridgeman, opposes commutation of his sentence, according to state Victim Advocate Carol Lavery.
Werts, 57, of Philadelphia, was convicted of second-degree murder in 1975 for his role in Bridgeman's slaying during a robbery at a speakeasy. Fultz, also 57 and from Philadelphia, was convicted of first-degree murder in 1975 in the fatal shooting of a teenager. Neither inmate was the triggerman, and both rejected plea deals that would have gotten them out of prison decades ago.
Werts and Fultz are considered model inmates at Graterford prison outside Philadelphia, where they have counseled at-risk teenagers and led efforts to reduce recidivism rates. Werts once prevented the rape of a prison teacher, while Fultz risked his life to deliver medicine to a prison staffer during a 1981 hostage crisis at Graterford.
"Allowing Mr. Werts to return to society is the right thing to do," Upper Moreland Township Police Chief Thomas Nestell III, who spent 23 years with the Philadelphia police department and has collaborated with Werts, told the board.
Fultz's elderly mother, Barbara Fultz Green, sobbed as she begged the board to show mercy.
"I know my son, I love my son, and I'm praying every day I'll live long enough to see him a free man again," she said.
Calling Werts and Fultz "two remarkable men," board member Russell A. Walsh, a psychologist, nevertheless recommended that the board postpone its decision.
The vote was unanimous.
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A Rare Non-Capital Clemency in Pennsylvania by Larry King. Wednesday, June 17, 2009
On June 2, Gov. Rendell performed what has become one of the rarest acts for a Pennsylvania governor.
He commuted the life sentence of a convicted murderer, paving the way for a 54-year-old Bucks County man to spend the rest of his life on parole.
Such acts of mercy, once granted by the dozens, have all but ended for Pennsylvania's more than 4,600 lifers, the result of a 1994 commutation gone lethally bad.
The springing of George Gregory Orlowski, sentenced for his part in a 1980 murder, is only the second life term commuted since Rendell took office - and only the third in Pennsylvania since 1994.
In contrast, 12 life sentences per year, on average, were commuted from 1971 through 1994.
The Orlowski decision could well be the last for a while. The Pennsylvania Board of Pardons, which must recommend clemency cases to the governor, has forwarded no other life sentences for Rendell to consider.
"Unfortunately, I think it is kind of an anomaly," said William DiMascio, executive director of the Pennsylvania Prison Society, which is suing the state over its tightened commutation standards. "We were all stunned by it."
For lifers, the clemency spigot all but closed in 1994, thanks to a pardoned killer named Reginald McFadden.
In 1994, Gov. Robert P. Casey paroled McFadden, who had served 24 years of a life sentence for murdering a 60-year-old Philadelphia woman. The state pardons board had recommended the action by a 4-1 vote.
Soon afterward, McFadden murdered two more people in New York and kidnapped and raped a third. The news broke a month before the 1994 gubernatorial election, and was credited in part for Tom Ridge's victory over then-Lt. Gov. Mark Singel, who had been among the pardons board members approving McFadden's release.
Ridge commuted no life sentences as governor. He instead backed a 1997 constitutional amendment that now requires a unanimous vote of the five-member pardons board to recommend clemency for anyone serving a life sentence. Before, a simple majority vote had sufficed.
The amendment also required a majority vote of the board to even hear an inmate's case. That change dramatically cut the number of pardons board hearings.
Since 2001, only 10 board hearings on inmates with life sentences have been held, resulting in three commutation recommendations for convicted murderers.
In January 2003, Gov. Mark Schweiker commuted the sentence of Ricki Pinkins. At 21, Pinkins had lent a handgun to a friend who used it in a fatal 1982 bar robbery in Mercer County.
In 2007, Rendell commuted the sentence of Michael H. Anderson. He was imprisoned in 1971, at 18, after a friend fatally stabbed a bus rider they were robbing in Philadelphia. The killer spent just seven years in prison.
