Harrisburg murder convict Edward Printup lost his bid Friday for a commutation of the life sentence he received for the 1980 shooting death of his step-father, Richard Sergeant.
Printup, now 57 and in prison since age 19 with no chance for parole, had hoped to get on a path for release from prison that would permit him to work enough years to eventually qualify for Social Security.
But the state Board of Pardons voted Friday, after a face-to-face interview with Printup earlier this week and a public hearing today, to reject his request on a 3-2 vote.
As a lifer, Printup needs to have a unanimous vote for his request to be forwarded to the governor's desk.
The decisive 'no' votes came from Attorney General Josh Shapiro and Harris Gubernick, the former Director of Corrections for Bucks County. Neither provided any explanation for their vote.
Ross Miller, the state Corrections Department official who helps inmates develop their cases, said Printup's chances were undoubtedly lessened by the active opposition of Dauphin County District Attorney Fran Chardo.
Chardo said discrepancies in details developed in the case record at Printup's 1981 trial and his account in his clemency application lead him to question whether Printup has fully taken responsibility for his crime.
Printup, in his current application, has maintained Sergeant was the latest in a strong of abusive step-fathers who had just left Printup and his mother on the cusp of homelessness.
He did not testify at his trial.
But in his clemency application, Printup has also contended that the shooting did start as an act of self-defense.
Noting Sergeant was shot at least 10 times, with entrance wounds in the back of the head and his back, Chardo countered Friday that that showed a level of malice that argued against Printup's release at age 57.
"I'm not saying the defendant never deserves consideration for a commutation," Chardo comtinued. "... but at age 57, it's not appropriate to grant commutation for a case of pre-meditated murder."
Chardo, under questioning from Lt. Gov. Mike Stack, said he'd be more comfortable with a parole for Printup after he's reached his 60s, and with a fuller acceptance of responsibility that what he's seen to date.
Speaking in Printup's favor were his sister, Harrisburg resident Michele Printup, a family friend who has gotten to know Printup well through her own father's incarceration, and a Native American spiritual advisor.
The family friend, Melanie Zampino, said Printup helped provide a crucial advice to her as the child of an incarcerated parent, and is largely responsible for both her and her daughter's completion of school.
If released, Zampino said, "hewould not only become a productive member of society, I think he would be a great asset to the community."
Printup had the full support of state Corrections Secretary John Wetze, and he also received a boost from the Penn Inmates Project, a program based at the University of Pennsylvania that works to support clemency efforts.
All were dejected at the board's decision, one of four commutation rejections this cycle.
Kathleen Brown, director of the Penn project that works to support lifers' clemency efforts, said afterward she continues to be concerned that Pardons Board members are too concerned with inmates' original crimes and not concerned enough with their rehabilitation.
"Who he is now checks all the boxes" for a safe release, Brown said of Printup's case. "He's going to be OK."
"I am disappointed. I think my brother did serve his debt to society," Michele Printup said. "Thirty-seven years, thirty-eight years (in prison)... That's a little bit excessive."
Miller, who has the hard task of informing the inmates that they've been turned down, said he knows Printup will be disappointed by the board's denial, but he expects it won't let it wreck the progress he's made.
"He'll be disappointed. But he'll just be ready to get back to SCI Huntingdon (Printup's home prison), and get back to his normal routine that he has there," Miller predicted.
Printup, he noted, has been recommended by Huntingdon's leaders to begin training as a certified peer specialist, a program that uses people who have successfully come through mental health or drug and alcohol problems to help others.
Beyond that, Printup has the right to file a new application for commutation of his life sentence after a two-year waiting period.