Wolf signed commutations for 13 people, including 3 from Allegheny County

Gov. Tom Wolf on Friday signed 13 commutations, including three people from Allegheny County who were convicted of murder.

Eric I. Eisen, 52, who served 26 years; Charlie J. Goldblum, 71, who served 42 years; and Avis Lee, 59, who served 40 years are among those who will soon be released to a community corrections center and eventually paroled, according to a news release from the governor’s office.

Others who received commutations were largely from Philadelphia, with one person from Lancaster.

“These 13 individuals have served time for their crimes and deserve now a second chance,” Wolf said in the release. “They now have a chance to begin a life outside of prison that I hope is fulfilling for each of them.”

According to a 2001 article from the Tribune-Review, Eisen was sentenced in 1994 to a mandatory life term without parole in the shotgun killing of Daniel J. Bostedo, 24, on Feb. 8, 1993 during a botched robbery. Eisen received a trial in 1996, but the Superior Court of Pennsylvania vacated the ruling in 1998.

At that point, Eisen said he had wrongfully been induced to plead guilty.

Others who were granted commutations include two sets of Philadelphia brothers who were sentenced to life in prison under separate second-degree murder cases.

Dennis and Lee Horton both served 27 years for a 1993 robbery and fatal shooting. Both men have claimed they did not commit the crime, according the release. The other set of brothers, Reid and Wyatt Evans served almost 40 years after being convicted in 1981.

According to the release, the brothers robbed a 68-year-old man at gunpoint and forced him out of his car, stealing the vehicle. The man later had a heart attack and died the next day, which made the robbery a murder under the felony murder law.

Others who received commutations include George W. Burkhardt, 83, of Lancaster. The rest, including Daniel Cummings, 75; Charles M. Haas, 72; Francisco Mojita Sr., 58; Mildred Strickland, 75 and Gregory Stover, 55, are all from Philadelphia.

Pardons and commutations are approved by a five-person board chaired by Lt. Gov. John Fetterman. The board must vote unanimously on applications for commutations of life sentences to pass the recommendations to Wolf.

“Each of these Pennsylvanians is fully deserving of the chance to return to their families and start a new life,” Fetterman said.