Family of murder victim seeks to block clemency request

PITTSBURGH — Forty-three years after he was killed during a robbery gone wrong, the family of Nicholas Morena wants to make sure one of the men responsible for the crime stays in prison.

Last week, the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons voted unanimously for Robert Wideman to receive clemency in his second-degree murder conviction.

The decision of a pardon is now on the desk of Governor Tom Wolf.

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Wideman did not pull the trigger in Morena's murder, but he was charged as an accomplice. Wideman was convicted of second degree felony murder in 1976. His sentence was life in prison without parole.

"My brother didn't get a second chance. He shouldn't. When Robert Wideman yelled 'get him' to an armed man, he sentenced Nicky to death," said one of Morena's family members.

Allegheny County District Attorney Steven Zappala agreed with the Morena family, and sent a letter to the parole board against Wideman being granted clemency.

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