Prison in California. (Photo: CCPOA screen capture)
Gov. Newsom Pardons Murderers, Bank Robbers, Kidnappers, Killer for Hire
Adhering to his 2020 budget plan to close 2 California prisons, Newsom is releasing 76,000 inmates
By Katy Grimes, June 2, 2021 2:45 am
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday before the Memorial Day holiday weekend that he granted 14 pardons, 13 commutations and 8 medical reprieves – for murderers, bank robbers, armed robbers, kidnappers, killers for hire, drivers of get-away-cars for murderers, and assaulters with firearms.
Press play to hear a narrated version of this story, presented by AudioHopper.
There were many drug crimes as well involving the selling, transporting, and possession of illegal drugs.
The governor’s decision to pardon so many inmates is taking place despite the evidence of a gross uptick in violent crime in California, and human beings dying in the gutters in cities across the state. California’s welfare and institution codes are lacking, and lawmakers know it.
In his 2020 May Budget Revise, Gov. Gavin Newsom, he announced he would be closing two California prisons needing to release 76,000 inmates. The Globe reported the governor was doing this on his own authority through Executive Order – as violent crime is spiking in California’s cities.
The Associated Press told the story of the pardons and commutations a little differently: “Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday pardoned more than a dozen people, including two inmate firefighters who faced deportation, and commuted the sentences of three people who were convicted of killings where they didn’t pull the trigger.”
The headline on the article was, “California governor pardons inmate firefighters.” There were two “inmate firefighters” among the 36 pardons and commutations.
Reading through the 40 pages of pardons, clemencies, commutations and medical reprieves, there were many prison sentences that were “Three Strikes, You’re Out” sentence enhancements, a California law written to help deal with violent repeat offenders. More than half of the states in the United States have some form of a habitual offender law.
However, “Three Strikes, You’re Out” has been under constant revision by the California Legislature and Democrat Governors who feel it isn’t an effective deterrent to crime, and more importantly, leads to prison overpopulation.
“The public needs to understand the magnitude of letting people out of prison,” said Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert in a Globe interview. “There is insufficient rehabilitation for these prisoners, and insufficient accountability.”
Schubert said every prosecutor wants a person who goes to prison to get rehabilitation. And in many cases they do. But in far too many cases, they do not.
“The bigger issue is we are seeing a massive effort to release very serious and dangerous individuals,” Schubert said.
Many violent criminal inmates are getting release credits for staring at the walls. Some have earned their way out of prison, but far too many have gotten credits for doing nothing, rehabilitation or not.
There are 5,000 sex offenders in California state prisons with only one treatment program.
Following Gov. Jerry Brown’s AB 109 and AB 117 in 2011, ostensibly to reduce the prison population in state facilities, “Prison Realignment” was sold as needed to decrease California’s prison population by shifting “new non-violent, non-serious, and non-sexual offenders” from state prisons to county jails, while concurrently reforming the state’s parole system. One result of Realignment is that Sheriffs Departments now house prisoners in county jails who previously would have been sent to state prisons. And those criminals who would be sitting in county jails are walking and living on the streets.
There were 175,000 inmates in prison in 2011 when Gov. Brown signed AB 109, and now there are less than half of that. What’s left in prison are the most very serious and dangerous individuals. These inmates being released are some of the most violent remaining prisoners.
“With little notice, California on Saturday is increasing early release credits for 76,000 inmates, including violent and repeat felons, as it further trims the population of what once was the nation’s largest state correctional system,” the AP reported in April. “That includes nearly 20,000 inmates who are serving life sentences with the possibility of parole.”
In July 2020, the Globe reported on 18,000 prisoners released “due to COVID,” along with an order for the entire state to again close indoor businesses.
While businesses were forced to close again, the governor let another 8,000 inmates out of prison, for a grand total of 18,000 convicted criminals on the streets, the Globe reported.
“The public needs to understand the magnitude of letting people out of prison” DA Schubert said. The larger picture is the state is releasing many individuals who committed serious crimes – as violent crime is already spiking in the state.
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See yesterdays article in the Globe,
“New Reports Finds Gun Sales Skyrocketed by 66% in California During Pandemic
March 2020 to September 2020 showed an 83% increase from previous year of background checks”
Sounds like a response to “Gov. Newsom Pardons Murderers, Bank Robbers, Kidnappers, Killer for Hire
Adhering to his 2020 budget plan to close 2 California prisons, Newsom is releasing 76,000 inmates”
Simply put, Newsom is an enemy of the average hard working Californian.
He once again demonstrates his abdication to protect and serve the greater population.
It is purposeful.
http://www.recallgavin2020.com
Most prisoners get out eventually.
All the fearmongering is disgusting.
Do you have the slightest understanding of a properly functioning criminal justice system? Do you think there should be consequences for those who engage in criminal activity? Or is your philosophy anything goes, let them all out, no standards, no consequences, it’s all good, it’s all fine, no matter what? You wouldn’t last long in such a place. So I wonder what stake you have in promoting a state that has out-of-control crime, increasing homeless/vagrancy, and an unsafe and generally lawless culture. You must have a stake in it or you wouldn’t have said what you said. Have you ever been a victim of crime? Do you have any sympathy for those who have been victims of crime? Or is it only criminals who deserve your sympathy?
Yes only someone that has a stake in a system that releases a killer or dangerous, repeat, offender would be in agreement with this move.
Maybe B is Chesa Boudin.
My family has been victim to a horrific crime when I was a child and the perpetuators were released early! I guess that is considered fear mongering! My statement is based in reality not fear. Killers should not be given early release, less violent criminals need to repent and pay their debt to society before they are released.
I am sorry but what a ridiculous, uncaring reply from B.
Cali Girl, I was angry before but now I’m much more angry to hear that your family was a victim of a crime when you were a child. So sorry to hear it, actually. And the perpetrators were released early. That’s not justice. A lot of people here feel as if they know you, I’m sure, and will likely be more determined than ever to speak up and work to correct what’s going on here. That’s how I feel about it, anyway.
CaliGirl, I am so sorry this happened to your family! Pisses me off that the victims of these horrific crimes are the least of consideration. B, is that, just a B. A single thoughtless letter and human.
Cali Girl,
I am sorry to hear what happened to your family. My heart goes out to you. I have dealt with people like B on social media on this issue and it is frustrating when they respond the way they do. You got to remember there are a lot of dumb people out there in the world that say dumb things. I hope this helps.
Well said showantell! With passion! I am with you on this one.
@Stacy and @Showandtell.,
I appreciate your passion and kind words and support. I only shared out of anger and to communicate that somewhere and at sometime many people have been affected by crime. Victims live with the repercussions their entire lives and learn to cope and honor their loved ones. . I find it a dereliction of duty when our elected leaders place the needs of the criminals above the victims. It is a political, callous move and endangers all.
Your sentiments are heartfelt.
Hi Stacy! Thanks. Always so good to see you. 🙂
This entire article is basically “yellow journalism”- can’t even call it journalism..total fascist fear mongering lies and no fact- this whole rag is that
Have a crime committed against you or someone you love & let the nimrod out without paying for it and let’s see how you feel about it then. It’s easy to sit back & tap away your opinions hiding behind a keyboard. “B”????????
Agree, Cali Girl. Everyone go to the website she posted and donate to the recall if you can spare it.
It’s obvious. The evidence is in. Gavin Newsom hates decent reasonable hard-working tax-paying family-raising business-owning Californians and he wants to destroy them.
We must remove him from office before he completely destroys the state.
Enemy of the average hard working Californian is correct! I feel it.
Katy, please go to the .SacBee state payroll database and look up how many psychologists are on the CDRC payroll. Where is all that manpower and money being spent if not on this so-called “rehabilitation”.
If the goal is to reduce the likelihood that people will recidivate, then that takes a societal commitment plus resources (which are presently being largely devoted to CDCr administrators and to litigation). Anne Marie Schuber, DA for Sacramento, said it herself: “There is insufficient rehabilitation for these prisoners…” She also referred to “insufficient accountability”: but, what did she specifically mean? CDRc is allowed to remain largely unaccountable for its actions and inactions, while incarcerated people are continually punished according to administrative regulations that afford no meaningful due process.
Many of you won’t be able to see where I’m coming. I accept that because many of you have no firsthand experience of how the criminal justice system operates, and haven’t needed to spend your time digging through the weeds.
gov. Gavin Nazis Newsom is a lunatic.
“Where I’m coming from” and “criminal legal system” is what I meant,
Let’s take the recent increase of violent crimes in California and we can make the correlation that recent “Covid 19” prison purging, Zero Bail Reform, Prop 57 , Prop 47 and a 16 month citizen lockdown .
[NEW: @LACoSheriff releases new 2021 crime stats for L.A. County vs same time period in 2020.
Homicides: ⬆️ 95%
GTA: ⬆️ 40%
Rape: ⬆️ 7.8%
Agg. Assault: ⬆️ 12.9%
Arson: ⬆️ 22%
He says LASD will start processing more CCW permits due to “less cops, more crooks, less consequences.”]
Still think it is a good idea to do a blanket release of murderers, rapists and those convicted of gun crimes?
This action is not about justice reform for those who were denied due process. It is throwing the baby out with the bath water.
Wow. Excellent stuff, Cali Girl.
As a companion to what you posted, here are some recent comments from L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, straight-talker extraordinaire, about skyrocketing crime in L.A. County, “de-funding” police and sheriff, the homeless industrial complex, failures of L.A. City (Mayor Garcetti) and L.A. County (leftist majority County Board of Supervisors) and L.A. Councilman Mike Bonin. Nothing like hearing this guy for yourself:
Sheriff Alex Villanueva – Excerpts from his weekly “Instagram Live” broadcast on The John Phillips Show, KABC 790 AM, June 2. **(Segment begins at the 21:43 marker – 11 mins long)**
https://omny.fm/shows/the-drive-home-with-jillian-barberie-and-john-ph-1/the-john-phillips-show-06-02-21-2pm
Great additions @ShowandTell.
I just used LA county as one example, now multiply the increase in crime across this state. It is staggering.
BTW, I have become a daily listener of John Phillips thanks to your recommendation year! Thank You.
@Sam, thank you for the kind sentiments, it was not my intention to make this personal but just wanted to share a victim’s perspective. It happened decades ago.
Glad to hear it, Cali Girl! That’s wonderful. 🙂