Today, Governor Newsom announced his desire to grant blanket commutations for every death row inmate in California. It is the wrong decision.
The Governor is attempting to appear courageous with this decision. He is not courageous. His commutations are solely based upon power and political aspirations. Courage would require speaking with crime victims and the surviving family members of the people murdered by these death row inmates. The Governor has not called Josh Ryen or Mary Ann Hughes to ask them their opinion on a potential commutation for Kevin Cooper. Cooper, who slaughtered Josh’s entire family including Josh’s friend and Mary’s son, Chris Hughes, then left Josh for dead. Josh has lived with the impact of that horrific night his entire life. Josh has never received a call from Gavin Newsom.
Courage would require the Governor to follow Marsy’s Law, California’s constitutional rights belonging to victims of crime. He has not. I am not aware of any victims’ family members receiving notice of these commutations from the Governor. Courage would also require the Governor to respect democracy and the will of the people by acknowledging that the people of California have consistently and repeatedly voted in favor of the death penalty in California. The Governor is concerned with politics, not people. The Governor ignores victims and their families constitutional rights with this decision. He has placed the lives and interests of convicted murderers above victims and their families.
Finally, courage would demand that the Governor respect the greatest example of democracy that exists, the jury system. These death sentences that the Governor is attempting to commute were all imposed by twelve members of the community who each had to independently determine that these condemned inmates were guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and determine that the crimes were so heinous that death was the only appropriate sentence. Jurors understand that not everyone should be treated the same for every homicide, because there are murders so horrific that no other verdict could be just. Gavin Newsom does not understand this, and has never attempted to understand this.
What the Governor seeks to do today is not courageous. It is arrogant and political showmanship. Governor Newsom substitutes his own aspirations in place of independently elected District Attorneys, hundreds of experienced prosecutors and judges, thousands of jurors, millions of voters, and most importantly, crime victims who have been consistently misled and denied justice by him and the California Legislature.
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