Pennsylvania governor commutes prize-winning author’s brother after serving 43 years in prison

Robert Wideman, brother of John Edgar Wideman, who wrote a memoir about his brother's case, was freed after serving more than four decades in prison for a 1975 slaying

Brianna Rhodes

Jul 3, 2019

Robert Wideman (Pa. Dept of Corrections)

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf on Monday commuted the sentence of the author, John Edgar Wideman’s brother after serving life in prison sentence without parole for the murder of a man in 1975.

Robert Wideman, 68, who was the subject of his brother’s 1984 memoir, “Brothers and Keepers” was charged with second-degree murder for the death of Nichola Morena, according to Pittsburgh station WTAE.

The case gained national attention after the award-winning novel was released. In the novel, the author reflects on how he and his brother took different journeys in life with “one leading to literary celebrity, the other to a life sentence,” the station describes.

Wideman, who was 24 at the time, received the same conviction of the gunman since the felony-murder considered him “an accomplice to a felony that causes a death as a killer.” The other person involved received third-degree murder.

“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,” Wolf’s office said in a statement.

Wideman was also considered “a low-risk for reoffending,” according to the statement.

Wideman’s sister, Letitia El, said she was excited to receive a call from her younger brother on Monday that he will be coming home soon, the Allegheny Tribune-Review reports.

El said she is looking forward to his return home after 43 years. This isn’t the first time Wideman’s sister has waited for his return home. He was granted a new trial in 199, but it was unfortunately overturned by the Pennsylvania Superior Court.

“It was horrible,” she said. “Everyone was at my house waiting for him. We’re still waiting.”

Before he arrives at her East Liberty home, Wideman will have to stay at a community corrections center and must live there for a year, according to the State Department of Corrections. He will arrive at the center once a bed will become available.

“I’m happy for my client that justice has finally been done after these many years,” defense, attorney Mark Schwartz said, who has been working on Wideman’s case since 1984. “But I’m saddened for the many, many like Robby Wideman who are still sitting in prison.”