Gov. Tom Wolf’s office announced Friday he has commuted the life sentences of 13 Pennsylvania inmates, clearing the way for their release to halfway houses.
Governor Tom Wolf is commuting the life sentences of eight more people in prison, bringing the total to 19 since he took office in 2015.
State corrections data show that Pennsylvania prisons house more than 5,100 people sentenced to life without parole. About 500 of them did not directly cause the death of a victim, according to a review the state’s Department of Corrections conducted last summer.
The lieutenant governor said he’d like to return to pre-1980s levels, when an average of 20 to 30 sentences a year were commuted.
