A fixture in central Pennsylvania, though not exactly a household name elsewhere, Pete Shellem was an investigative journalist working the court and justice beat. Not someone who called himself an investigative reporter, but someone who actually investigated things he thought were wrong.
Who, you ask? This Pete Shellem.
Do you remember Pete Shellem, writing for the Patriot-News in Harrisburg now? He was a reporter whose work changes lives, notably for former state Attorney General Preate, who called Shellem a “one man Innocence Project.” I didn’t know who he was until yesterday. I’m sorry that I didn’t, because Pete Shellem was someone worth knowing and admiring.
Pete Shellem, dead at age 49.
Patriot-News investigative reporter Pete Shellem freed a number of innocent people from prison.
H/T Reader Brian
Who, you ask? This Pete Shellem.
Patty Carbone: She was released from prison in 1998, 11 years after her conviction for killing a man she said abducted and tried to rape her. Stories by Shellem questioning the evidence and pointing out that the victim, Jerome Lint, had tried to assault another woman helped secure her release.
Steven Crawford: He spent 28 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of killing a childhood friend. In 2002, Dauphin County prosecutors dropped charges against Crawford and set him free based on a series of stories by Shellem about new evidence in his case, and problems with earlier work by the state police crime lab.
Barry Laughman: Laughman, who is mentally retarded, claimed he was coerced into a confession. Shellem tracked down DNA in Germany that proved Laughman did not kill an 85-year-old distant relative known as Aunt Edna. In 2004, Laughman was released from a life sentence after 16 years in prison.
David Gladden: Shellem wrote a series of stories exposing gaping holes in the case against Gladden, including the fact that a key informant had reasons to lie and that serial killer Andrew Dillon lived next door to the victim. The stories caused a man to come forth and counter Dillon’s alibi. Prosecutors decided to release Gladden in 2007.
Ernie Preate: Preate, then the state’s attorney general and a candidate for governor, was convicted of campaign-related mail fraud in 1995, after a series of stories by Shellem and former Patriot-News reporter Pete Shelley. Preate now works on behalf of prison-reform groups.
Jay Smith: Smith was sentenced to death in 1986 for the murders of teacher Susan Reinert and her two children. He was freed six years later by the state Supreme Court, which ruled there had been prosecutorial misconduct.
Do you remember Pete Shellem, writing for the Patriot-News in Harrisburg now? He was a reporter whose work changes lives, notably for former state Attorney General Preate, who called Shellem a “one man Innocence Project.” I didn’t know who he was until yesterday. I’m sorry that I didn’t, because Pete Shellem was someone worth knowing and admiring.
Pete Shellem, dead at age 49.
Patriot-News investigative reporter Pete Shellem freed a number of innocent people from prison.
H/T Reader Brian
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Sir, I’m certain that the Shellem family will appreciate knowing that his endeavors are worthy of notice from people that didn’t personally know him.
In an effort to preserve his work, we are including him as a “Public Hero” and inspiration for PROJECT: Not Guilty. May he rest in peace and never be forgotten
Not everybody who makes a meaningful contribution to our legal system is a lawyer. Thoughtful prosecutors know that their professional obligation is not simply to seek a conviction, but more importantly to pursue justice. I’m a lawyer, not a journalist, and I live in another state, but this man’s life, work, and efforts in pursuit of justice are worth remembering.
Dear Mr. Greenfield,
Thank you for taking the time to recognize my husband and allowing others to gain an awareness of what an extraordinary man he was. He was, without question, a MAN worth remembering. He was a wonderful journalist, a terrific father and a loving husband. More than anything though,for me, he was my best friend for more than 31 years. I LOVED him so and am grateful for the recognition he has received.
He was a modest man and would have been uncomfortable at the amount of attention his death has received. At the same time, he would have been extremely grateful to know there are others, like yourself and your readers, who ARE paying attention to the very important investigative work that must continue to be done. Pete did what he did he told me more than once; “Because it is (was) the right thing to do.”
Pete sought the truth. He sought justice for those who had lost all appeals and in most cases all hope that their story….the real story…. would ever be revealed. He had an uncanny way of finding the truth through his persistence and determination. He was an honest man. A man of courage, intellect and integrity. He accomplished much in his short time with us. I am forever grateful for the time he had with us and hope that there are others out there willing to take up the cause where Pete left off.
My sons and I have established a Memorial Scholarship Fund in his name with the help of Ford Turner and Spero Lappas. I am hoping to grant the scholarship annually to a college student or students studying journalism. If anyone is interested in donating to the fund, checks can be made payable to the
Peter J. Shellem Memorial Scholarship Journalism Fund
c/o Spero Lappas
2080 Linglestown Road
Harrisburg, Pa. 17110