HARRISBURG — More than 40 years after he was first booked into a state prison for his role in a 1975 killing in Allegheny County, Robert Wideman will be released, following Gov. Tom Wolf’s decision earlier this week to commute his sentence.
Wideman was 28 years old when he was sent to state prison on a second-degree murder conviction stemming from a case that eventually took a controversial course through the judicial system.
Now 68, Wideman will spend the first year after his release at a Community Corrections Center, often referred to as a halfway house, as required by state law. After that, he will spend the rest of his life on parole.
Wideman learned of his release on Monday and was “elated,” according to his sister, Letitia El of Pittsburgh.
“I can hug him and touch him and talk to him whenever I want to,” Ms. El said in an interview Tuesday. “There are no words. There are just no words — only feelings of joy and happiness.”
Wideman was convicted of second-degree murder in connection with the Nov. 17, 1975, death of Nicola Morena. Officials have said Wideman played a role in the crime but did not fire the shot that contributed to Morena’s death.
Mr. Wolf’s decision followed a unanimous recommendation from the state pardons board, which accepted testimony regarding Wideman’s release at a hearing in May.
"The Board found that Mr. Wideman used his time in prison productively and largely without incident, accepts responsibility for his actions and exhibits great remorse for the victim," J.J. Abbott, Mr. Wolf's spokesman, said in a statement. He noted that officials within the Department of Corrections believe Wideman “has a low-risk for re-offending.”
Morena’s family and the Allegheny County district attorney’s office, which prosecuted the case, had opposed Wideman’s release, noting the pain Morena’s killing inflicted on his relatives. Morena's sister declined to comment Tuesday.
Wideman’s case — featured in a memoir, “Brothers and Keepers,” written by his brother John Edgar Wideman — has been controversial.
Police have said Wideman and two other men, Michael Dukes and Cecil Rice, claimed to have a truckload of stolen televisions that they intended to sell to three men — Morena and his cousins James and Kenneth Slaby, who planned to sell them.
They met at Morena's used-car lot on Saw Mill Run Boulevard, but when the doors to the truck were opened, it was empty and Rice ordered the men, at gunpoint, to drop their money.
Morena ran, and Dukes shot him in the back. Morena was taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital on the South Side and then to Mercy Hospital, where he died.
Dukes and Wideman were convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole. Rice was convicted of third-degree murder and released after serving a 10- to 20-year sentence. Dukes remains in prison.
In the years after his trial, Wideman learned that Morena’s family had settled a malpractice lawsuit against St. Joseph’s Hospital. Wideman sought a new trial on the grounds that the jury never heard what he thought was crucial evidence that Morena could have survived had he received proper medical care.
Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge James R. McGregor agreed and granted Wideman a new trial. But the Allegheny County district attorney’s office appealed and blocked Wideman’s release on bail. Wideman’s attorney, Mark Schwartz, filed a motion to hold the prosecutors in contempt but later dropped the effort at the request of Wideman’s brother. Wideman never got the new trial.
Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, who serves as chairman of the pardons board, said Tuesday that those twists and turns didn't impact the board’s decision. Rather, he said, it focused on Wideman’s conduct in prison, the recommendation from the Department of Corrections, and on statements Wideman made during an interview with the board.
“I believe [he] projected a genuine sense of contrition and sorrow for the choices he made that contributed to this,” Mr. Fetterman said.
Mr. Schwartz, who sat in on part of the interview, said his client essentially told the board: “I don’t have any excuses. I was there and what happened was regrettable, and I accept responsibility.”
In a statement to the board, Wideman called himself a “changed man” and noted he had gotten an education, taught other inmates, served as a sponsor for Narcotics Anonymous, and participated in a Duquesne University program, Inside/Out, which matches inmates with law enforcement cadets.
Wideman called the plan to rob Mr. Morena and his cousins "the worst decision" of his life. "At the time, I was a heavy drug user and drinker, which are not an excuse," Wideman said.
First Published: July 2, 2019, 3:15 p.m.
