Crime has become the focus of criticism for Pennsylvania Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman, given that he wants to let as many criminals out onto the streets as possible. But Fetterman can’t expunge his record on crime in the same way he wants to expunge other people’s criminal records.
The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections’s 2022 report on recidivism determined that 40% of inmates released from the department’s custody go on to re-offend within one year of release, and 64.7% go on to re-offend within three years. The re-arrest rate has increased since 2000, and the re-conviction rate has increased since 2010. Recidivism from 2006 releases to 2016 releases has increased for crimes across the board, including murder, rape, aggravated assault, and robbery.
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Fetterman, you may recall, has voted to release several criminals convicted for murder from prison, and he opposes sentences of life without parole (a position he has tried to walk back during this race).
Fetterman also boasted of his opposition to “tough on crime” policies while courting the endorsement of a left-wing anti-police group. Fetterman has endorsed Larry Krasner, the Philadelphia district attorney who has overseen a surge in violent crime in the city thanks to his “reform” policies, which allow criminals to cycle in and out of jail. Under Krasner, Philadelphia set a new record for homicides last year and is on pace to break that record once again this year.
In every case for clemency (like Dennis + Lee Horton ) from Philadelphia @DA_LarryKrasner stepped up + supported us.
I’m returning that support + endorsing him + the truly groundbreaking work with the Conviction Integrity Unit, so his crucial CJ reforms can continue.#2ndChances https://t.co/sMMS9s4rBi pic.twitter.com/U5sGw7psKz
— John Fetterman (@JohnFetterman) May 17, 2021
Fetterman has attempted to run from his criminal justice record, but there is no erasing it. He released an ad featuring a Democratic sheriff claiming he is “sick” of people talking about Fetterman and crime. Fetterman “voted with law enforcement experts nearly 90% of the time” on the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons, the sheriff tells us. What more could you ask for?
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But Fetterman only voted with law enforcement experts on life sentence commutations 69% of the time, repeatedly voting to commute the sentences of criminals convicted of first- and second-degree murder. Fetterman thinks releasing convicted murderers would “not make anyone less safe” and that it is the fair and right thing to do, no matter how cold-blooded their murders were.
Fetterman can’t run from these facts no matter how hard he tries. He ran for lieutenant governor with the explicit goal of trying to release criminals from prison and has endorsed politicians like Krasner who have tried to make life as easy as possible for criminals. While he stammers his way through the final weeks of the campaign, Fetterman can’t mask those facts or the fact that he doesn’t have the appropriate judgment to serve as a senator.
