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California district attorneys and law enforcement unions publicly condemned Gov. Gavin Newsom after his announcement to commute the sentences of 548 death row inmates, a move one prosecutor called a slap in the face to the victims’ families.
Newsom’s sweeping order to commute those sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole has drawn intense criticism as well as praise from death penalty advocates.
“I think unfortunately it’s a question of politics. Politics is over people in this case, and it’s a really sad situation,” San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow told Fox News Digital.
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Law enforcement officials and prosecutors have criticized Gov. Gavin Newsom for granting blanket commutations to all of California’s death row inmates. (Jane Tyska/Digital First Media/East Bay Times via Getty Images/Frazer Harrison/WireImage)
In an open letter detailing his decision, Newsom said California’s system of capital punishment is fundamentally at odds with the state’s principles.
“After nearly 30 years in public service, I have understood the limits of what government can legitimately accomplish,” Newsom wrote. “I am taking this action because I firmly believe that state-sanctioned murder is inconsistent with California values, undermines the foundation of our legal system, and diminishes each of us.”
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Upon taking office in 2019, Newsom issued an executive moratorium on capital punishment. California has not carried out an execution since 2006.
The reaction to the governor’s announcement was immediate.
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“Justice will not have been served for these victims, there are dozens of them in San Diego County,” said Lt. Jared Wilson, president of the San Diego Police Association.
“Their last memories were of those evil men who took their lives. What Gavin Newsom did was horrible.”
Lt. Sam Robinson calls to open a door on death row at San Quentin State Prison, in San Quentin, California, August 15, 2016. The prison is California’s oldest penitentiary and houses the state’s only death row for men with 700 condemned inmates. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Wilson and other law enforcement officials have sharply criticized this blanket leniency, citing cases like that of Jesse Michael Gomez, who was sentenced to death for the 2016 murder of San Diego police officer Jonathan “JD” De Guzman.
“Californians have twice been asked to abolish the death penalty, and each time they have chosen to retain it for the most serious crimes,” said Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman.
“Until the law is changed, my office will continue to evaluate each death penalty case with the rigor, care and restraint that such decisions require.
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Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer called the commutations “a mercy to the wolves … while inflicting the ultimate act of cruelty on the sheep,” saying California voters have upheld the death penalty in recent years.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, who previously ran for governor, noted that 127 California death row inmates had been convicted for crimes committed in his county.
“These convictions were not handed down without due process,” he said. “They followed extensive investigations, lengthy trials, evidence presented in court and decisions made by juries and judges.
“Yet, in a sweeping executive decision, the governor chose to ignore these findings, ignoring the voices of victims’ families, the work of prosecutors, and the quest for justice that has been years in the making.”
Students Rachel Newhouse and Aundria Crawford were killed separately. Their killer, Rex Krebs, was sentenced to death for the brutal murders. (San Luis Obispo County Prosecutor)
Among the 548 inmates whose sentences were commuted were two men convicted in San Luis Obispo County: Michael Whisenhunt, 61, who was sentenced to death for the 1995 torture and murder of his girlfriend’s 1-year-old daughter, Kesha Gurke; and Rex Krebs, 60, who was convicted of the brutal murders of two female students.
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Dow noted that victims’ families were not consulted or informed before Newsom’s public announcement.
“Frankly, I was just sickened for the crime victims in California who were slapped in the face by our governor,” Dow said.
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Responding to arguments from anti-death penalty groups who say capital punishment is inherently flawed and racist, Dow defended the current legal framework.
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“We have a rigorous defense process that eliminates records. I have great confidence in the integrity of our convictions,” he said.
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