Fetterman Voted to Put Murderers Back on Streets

Senate hopeful John Fetterman often touts his role in advocating for the release of harmless and "innocent" prisoners. A review of the Democrat's record on commutation cases, however, shows the Democrat has voted to release violent criminals jailed for their roles in brutal murders.

As Pennsylvania's lieutenant governor, Fetterman leads the five-person Board of Pardons, which evaluates clemency applications in the state. Since taking on the job in 2019, the Democrat has voted to release more criminals sentenced to life in prison than any other member of the panel, state records obtained by the Washington Free Beacon show. 

Fetterman's progressive stance often makes him the only board member to vote in favor of releasing a particularly heinous offender. Such was the case when he voted to commute the sentence of Michael Rinaldi, a man with Philadelphia mob ties who planned the killing of Edward Bianculli in 1980. An accomplice shot Bianculli as Rinaldi watched on, dumping the victim in a marsh near the Philadelphia airport, where the body remained for more than six months. Bianculli's family vehemently opposed Rinaldi's commutation during a September 2020 board hearing, arguing that he "possesses a serious danger to the community and must not be released into society."