Sen. Fetterman will take Dennis Horton, freed after 28 years in prison, to the State of the Union

It will be the first State of the Union address for both of them.

Sen. John Fetterman (D., Pa.) will take Philadelphian Dennis “Freedom” Horton as his guest to President Joe Biden’s address Tuesday night, underlining his commitment to criminal justice reform in his first time attending the nationally watched event.

Fetterman is still establishing himself as a freshman senator, just sworn in last month, and inviting Horton for his first State of the Union sends an early signal that clemency work and second chances remain a major focus for him.

Horton, along with his brother, Lee, served 28 years in prison for a murder conviction that has been heavily criticized as both brothers have maintained their innocence. Fetterman vigorously advocated for their release from prison during his time as chair of the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons, which voted to commute their sentences in December 2020.

“The incarceration of Dennis and Lee for a crime they did not commit is a stark reminder of the work we need to do to make our criminal justice system more equitable and fair,” Fetterman said in a statement. “I fought for their commutations and countless others as chair of the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons, and as your U.S. Senator I will continue to push for second chances for those who deserve them. We should not be a society about vengeance, we should be a society about redemption.”

Fetterman’s vocal support for clemency came under heavy attack during his Senate campaign last year as his Republican opponent, Mehmet Oz, tried to use Fetterman’s work to portray him as soft on crime. Oz specifically demanded that Fetterman fire the Horton brothers, who were working as paid Fetterman campaign staffers and vocal public surrogates.

Since Fetterman’s campaign ended, Dennis Horton and his brother have worked on antiviolence initiatives and given wellness trainings and seminars across the Philadelphia region. Horton is also engaged to be married in July. In the span of two years he’ll have gone from serving a life sentence at the State Correctional Institution in Chester to sharing a room with some of the most important legislators in the country and the president.

Horton said in an interview with the Inquirer Monday night that he was “a little taken aback,” by the invitation but excited for the opportunity and the statement it makes.

”As a freshman senator, the fact that he’s inviting an individual who was incarcerated for 28 years to be his guest up at the Capitol, that’s huge,” Horton said. “It’s huge to the second chance community overall that you got someone who’s gonna be working on your behalf, someone that cares about you, someone that cares about criminal justice reform, cares about making sure people who are deserving at a second chance get one.”

Members of Congress often bring guests to the State of the Union whose life stories help elevate issues important to them or their party — or whose own heroics deserve recognition. Rep. Brendan Boyle (D., Pa.) is bringing SEPTA bus operator Chris DeShields, who stopped a carjacking while driving his route. Late on Jan. 25, DeShields was driving his Route 5 bus in Fishtown when he used the vehicle to break up a carjacking by angling his bus toward the carjackers, leaning on the horn, and shouting out the windows, scaring them off.

Here are some of the other guests invited to the State of the Union by local members of Congress: