Peter Shellem

Who is Peter Shellem?

Peter Joseph Shellem was an investigative reporter for The Patriot-News. He was instrumental in obtaining the release of five wrongfully convicted innocent people:

Steven Crawford, imprisoned for life in 1970 for murder at age 14, released after 28 years

Barry Laughman, imprisoned for life in 1988 for rape and murder, released after 15 years

David Gladden, imprisoned for life in 1995 for murder, released after 12 years

Patty Carbone, imprisoned for life in 1984 for first-degree murder, released after 14 years after pleading guilty to a reduced charge of third degree murder

Jay C. Smith, sentenced to death in 1979 for triple murder, released after 13 years, after the state Supreme Court found that prosecutorial misconduct barred him from being retried on double jeopardy grounds

Shellem's reporting also led to the conviction and imprisonment for mail fraud of the Pennsylvania Attorney General, Ernie Preate in 1995. After serving a year in jail, Preate said of Shellem: "He is a one-man Innocence Project. You've got to recognize the work that he's done and the value he's given to society. He was there when the justice system failed."