The Democratic nominee voted to release an inmate who murdered a man with pruning shears and then ordered a beating on his accomplice

Democratic Senate hopeful John Fetterman is in the news again for his role as chairman of the Pennsylvania Parolees Committee. In 2019, Fetterman and the rest of the board voted unanimously to release a man convicted of murder, then ordered a hit on his accomplice.

Back in 1976, Charles “Zeke” Goldblum was convicted of first-degree murder of Georg Wilhelm. Goldblum and his accomplice Clarence Miller lured Wilhelm to a Pittsburgh parking garage, where Goldblum stabbed Wilhelm 26 times with scissors.

According to court documents, Wilhelm learned that Goldblum and Miller conspired to burn down a Goldblum restaurant to collect insurance money. Wilhelm then demanded payment to keep quiet about the insurance fraud scheme that motivated the murder.

While awaiting trial, Goldblum then attempted to hire an undercover cop to kill Miller, who was widely expected to testify against Goldblum. Although Goldblum has long claimed that Miller was the actual attacker in the stabbing of Wilhelm and that he only witnessed it, Goldblum admitted that he “punched Miller a punch.”

Goldblum u miller were both sentenced to life imprisonment for murder.

In the decades since his conviction, Goldblum had appealed for clemency seven times and was summarily denied. However, despite the wishes of the Wilhelm family, the parole board changed course and voted to release him in 2019.

“We thought [Goldblum’s life sentence] That would be just that – life in prison without the possibility of parole,” said Sandra Horton, Wilhelm’s niece, “and being forced to accept his part in George’s brutal death.

Horton specifically blamed Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) and Fetterman for the systemic changes that now allow violent criminals like Goldblum to be released.

“This is Wolf and Fetterman,” she said. “That’s how we came here. … The eighth time is the magic.”

Unlike the Wilhelm family, Fetterman celebrated Goldblum’s release. Corresponding news maxFetterman said he was “happy” that Goldblum was being returned to his family. Fetterman also insisted that Goldblum was “not a threat to public safety.”

“John is proud of his work on the Parolees Committee, which gives violent offenders and wrongfully convicted offenders a second chance,” said Fetterman spokesman Joe Calvello.

“Goldblum was wrongly convicted and as such, John, along with all other members of the Parolees Committee, voted to recommend clemency,” Calvello continued. “The judge and prosecutor who conducted his trial also came to the same conclusion and lobbied for his release.”

Calvello is right. The judge and prosecutors in the case have since reconsidered Goldblum’s role in the Wilhelm murder. They now believe that Miller did in fact kill Wilhelm and that Goldblum was the accomplice. However, they have not provided definitive reasons for their change of heart, and a federal appeals court declared in 2007 that evidence presented at the original trial “proved Goldblum’s guilt.”

Fetterman’s Republican opponent, Dr. Mehmet Oz, has accused Fetterman of taking a “soft” approach that endangers public safety. According to polls, Fetterman currently has a slight lead RealClearPolitics.