Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, the Democrat candidate for U.S. Senate, appointed a "friend" of a cop-killing Black Panther to the state's Board of Pardons.
Fetterman, who's opposing Republican Mehmet Oz in November's Senate race, in January appointed Celeste Trusty, a self-described "friend" of cop killer Mumia Abu-Jamal, to serve as secretary of the board, The Washington Free Beacon reported.
Fetterman, who has voted to free numerous murderers, has referred to the board of pardons as his "bully pulpit for criminal justice reform."
He has bragged that he "transformed" the lieutenant governor position by leading "the fight to free the wrongfully convicted and give second chances to deserving longtime inmates," the Free Beacon reported.
Fetterman was the only member of the five-person board to vote last year to pardon Wayne Covington, who was convicted of first-degree murder after killing a man to steal money to buy heroin.
"Wayne Covington was high on drugs when he robbed and murdered George Rudnycky," Oz tweeted with a link to inmatesforfetterman.com on Tuesday morning.
"In June 2021, John Fetterman was the only member of the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons to vote to commute Covington's sentence, despite the pleas of the victim's family."
Covington struck a plea deal to avoid the death penalty, the Free Beacon reported.
Trusty, who served as Fetterman's campaign political director, is a longtime prison reform activist who has called to "disarm the police," the Free Beacon said.
Abu-Jamal, whom Trusty has called a "friend" and "my buddy," is serving a life sentence for the 1981 murder of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner. The convict's death penalty sentence was overturned in 2011.
Trusty has said she frequently corresponds with Abu-Jamal, whom progressives want released for what they claim is a wrongful conviction.
Both Fetterman and Trusty have pushed for an end to mandatory life sentences for people convicted of second-degree murder.
In her role on the board, Trusty does not vote on individual pardon applications. However, she oversees the board's daily operations, moderates its hearings, and advises board members.
Trusty worked on Fetterman's campaign from March 2021 until January, according to Federal Election Commission records.
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