Foster Tarver
Juvenile lifer spends five decades behind bars
By Tyanna Abercrombie and Sean Spencer
“It’s a jungle out here, and racism is the loudest roar,” said Foster Tarver, 68, who was convicted of a fatal armed bank robbery in Dauphin County as a juvenile.
Tarver was born in Pittsburgh and was raised in the lower Hill District. He had six siblings and was raised mainly by his mother.
The convicted juvenile lifer is finding his way in society after spending 49 years in prison. He was released in June 2018.
The Hill District, once known as the cultural center of black life in Pittsburgh and a major center of jazz, was beginning to decline when Tarver was growing up.
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Urban renewal in the Hill started in 1956. When the Civic Arena began construction in 1958, 1,500 families were displaced from their homes in the lower Hill District.
Photo by Sean Spencer
Tarver was a teenager in the turbulent 1960’s. “I grew up in a racist time … and was called boy [by racists],” said Tarver.
Tarver and his friends would go Downtown, and would antagonize racist white people. Tarver said that most of the families around him, including his own, felt the “economic pressure” of being black in Pittsburgh. The best jobs at the time were at the Steel Mills, said Tarver, but discrimination and inequality still plagued the workplace.
“There was very few days I remember where I wasn’t hungry,” he said. “My friends in the same circle were experiencing the same things.”
"There was very few days I remember where I wasn’t hungry."
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Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated April 4, 1968 and riots erupted nationwide, including in the Hill District. Businesses were vandalized or looted and 505 fires were set. The riot lasted from April 5 to 11, until 3,600 National Guardsman stopped the anarchy. The 1968 riots symbolized the end of an era for the Hill District.
“You cope with your environment, your circumstances,” said Tarver. “It was bad times and you’re trying to find the tools to deal with it.”
Tarver found himself acting out on impulse, and hunger left him open to crazy suggestions.
Tarver, then 17, and Samuel Barlow, then 18, were already on the run for robbery from Pittsburgh in the late fall of 1968, when Sharon Wiggins, also 17 at the time, joined them on the run.
“Money solves a lot of problems, and if you don’t know no better, you tend to think it solves all problems,” said Tarver.
The three traveled to Harrisburg with weapons to find a bank to rob.
Tarver said that, “There was nothing rational about what we did.”
On Dec. 2, 1968, Tarver, Wiggins and Barlow robbed the Dauphin Deposit Bank.
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A customer, George S. Morelock, 64, entered the bank during the robbery and tried to take the gun off of Wiggins.
Morelock lost his life.
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“There was nothing rational about what we did.”
“We were all small kids,” said Tarver. “There was no voice of reason.”
They were apprehended soon after, were all convicted for the fatal bank robbery and originally sentenced to death.
“How we ended up on death row? It was racism,” said Taver.
Tarver said that it felt like an “adrenaline shot” when he found out he was sentenced to death.
“When your experiencing that [crime], you don’t know what you’re doing, especially as a child," he said.
Tarver admitted that the people of Harrisburg had reasons to be angry.
Tarver also said they didn't understand Tarver’s anger towards the racist system and the killing of his heroes, like Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.
All three original sentences were rescinded to life without parole in 1972.
“Being in jail, you begin to realize that your ability to have choices is diminished, and continues to diminish,” said Tarver.
“Anger was the only tool I had to cope with my environment,” said Tarver. “Prison can twist that anger.”
Photo by Tyanna Abercrombie
The Allegheny County Courthouse, built in the 1880s, was a jail until 1995.
Tarver said, “Life imprisonment is like being buried alive. Nothing gets better.”
But while in prison, Tarver decided to make the best of his circumstances.
“Everyday in jail I spent trying to improve myself for the day I walk out of prison.”
Tarver would make friends with that same intent.
“You can’t control the environment because it’s a system, but you can make the most of it.”
Tarver started taking college classes while imprisoned. He also learned his legal case, because if no one else understood it, he did.
“In helping your soul, you begin to learn you should help others,” said Tarver.
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In 2012, his case came up for review after the U.S. Supreme Court found that mandatory life without parole sentences imposed on juveniles was unconstitutional.
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In June 2018, Tarver was released from prison.
“I got to enjoy myself,”said Tarver.
Tarver said he is resocializing, instead of adjusting to society.
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"I got to enjoy myself."
“I’m trying to get used to people, getting used to me.”
Free now, Tarver is currently enrolled at CCAC and earning his associate degree. He also is working at a paralegal firm.
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Tarver still finds obstacles in his path.
Tarver had been living with his brother since his release from prison until he could find his own place.
His brother had a medical emergency, and an ambulance was called. Tarver then told his brother he had to leave and walk around the block when medical help arrived. He was afraid that the police would be the first to arrive on the scene, and any police contact could violate his parole.
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Upon his release, Tarver applied for a Project Based Voucher (PBV) for Milestone Manor and Allegheny Union Baptist Association.
A PBV is a payment in privately owned rental housing that helps tenants pay their rent.
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On Oct. 2, 2018, the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP) denied Tarver’s application.
Under Section 8.7 of the HACP’ Admission and Occupancy Policy, any applicant that has been convicted of murder are banned for a life from HACP participation.
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Tarver’s application was denied due to his criminal background and charges. HACP, must conduct a criminal background check on all of its applicants.
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The eligibility requirements for applicants, are set under the Admission and Continued Occupancy Plan.
After receiving his denial letter, Tarver requested a grievance hearing. The request was granted and Tarver’s trial took place on
Dec. 12 before Hearing Officer Tammie D. Bivins.
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Tarver’s appeal was denied.
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The Hearing Officer ruling stated, “based on the HACP ACOP, this hearing officer can only consider whether you are the individual who committed the subject of offense. Evidence of rehabilitation cannot be considered. It was clearly established that you are the person convicted of the crime of murder.”
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Tarver appealed the hearing officer’s ruling.
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Tarver’s appeal argued that a local housing authority could not have stricter requirements than those applied by the federal Housing and Urban Development Authority. Under the federal law, if the applicant has not committed any criminal activity during a reasonable grace period, he or she can be given housing.
A witness reported that HUD had approved the lifetime ban for convicted criminals
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The witness provided no writings or documentation to support her testimony. The witness also, provided no proof that HUD approved HACP’s life exclusion to convicted murderers.
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She also had no documentation HUD authorized HACP’s standard of reasonableness.
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Puzzled by the severity of the local housing authority, Tarver requested another appeal.
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This motion to appeal was filed on January 16, 2019 by attorney R. Stanton Wettick with a hearing scheduled for April 15.
Tricia Henning, representing the Housing Authority, before Judge Jeffrey A. Manning, decided not to challenge Tarver’s appeal.
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Tarver is now renting an apartment, and was approved for his housing voucher.
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