Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor and Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman cast a pivotal vote leading to the release of a man convicted of first-degree murder for the murder of an elderly woman in 1969 .
In December, Fetterman, chairman of the Pennsylvania State Pardons Commission, along with other members of the commission, voted for the release of Edward Silvis, fulfilling the unanimous vote requirement to recommend a pardon. Democratic Governor Tom Wolfe granted Silvis’ request on his February 15 release and released him from prison.
Silvis, now 82, was serving a life sentence for shooting and killing retired teacher Alice Siggins, 87, during an attempted robbery of her Armstrong County home on April 12, 1969. .
Silvis was accused of shooting Siggins with a rifle and then fleeing without the cash. PennLive.com previously reportedSilvis reportedly turned himself in to state police that night.
FETTERMAN single-handedly voted in an unsuccessful bid to free a man convicted of murdering a woman with a pair of scissors. DA speaks up
PennLive.com reported in 2016 that Silvis had made five unsuccessful attempts to convince a court to release him from prison.
At the Silvis hearings in December, Marsha Grayson, the victim’s representative on the pardon committee, was vacant and did not vote.
According to the Amistad Law Projectthe Armstrong County District Attorney, a progressive law firm in Philadelphia, attended a hearing in opposition to Silvis’ request for pardon, and the Department of Corrections appeared in support.
Fetterman’s campaign spokesperson, Joe Calvero, defended his vote for a pardon on Monday.
“John’s record on the pardon board has been widely praised by both Democrats and Republicans,” Carvero told Fox News Digital. We took an impartial approach to all cases and voted to deny hundreds of pardon and commutation cases, but sided with law enforcement professionals nearly 90% of the time.”
“This individual has not had a single count of misconduct in 52 years in prison,” Carvero continued, referring to Silvis. With Attorney General Shapiro and corrections expert Harris Goubernick voting in favor, Gov. Wolf signed off on a commutation.”
Democratic Senate candidate Fetterman pressed to free man convicted of fatal shooting, stabbing
Fetterman’s record on crime came under scrutiny as his race against Republican opponent Mehmet Oz continued to intensify. Fetterman, who had a lead of , now has a lead of just 3.7%.
Fetterman cast the lone vote last year in a failed attempt to seek the release of Alexis Rodriguez, who was convicted of murdering the 1989 Philadelphia police officer’s 17-year-old son.
Last March, Fetterman cast the sole vote to commutate the sentence of John David Bulkins, who is serving a life sentence after being convicted of murdering a woman with a pair of scissors.
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Fetterman also successfully sought the early release of Raymond Johnson, who was convicted of first- and second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison for the 1973 York County murders.