Governor Gavin Newsom yesterday sent the Supreme Court 10 requests for recommendations to grant clemency. Six of them are to commute sentences for serious crimes; the other four are for pardons of less serious offenses. A court recommendation is constitutionally required before a governor can grant clemency to anyone who has been “twice convicted of a felony.”
For five of the six proposed commutations, the Governor said he is “contemplating” the clemency grants will lead to “eligib[ility] for an earlier parole suitability hearing” or, in the case of the life-without-parole sentence that the Governor wants to commute, simply for a parole suitability hearing. (Related: “Newsom grants clemency, but freedom isn’t certain”.) For the sixth, Jonathan Cannon, Newsom “contemplat[es]” the commutation would make Cannon eligible for an earlier release, instead of his current May 2026 release eligibility date.
The ten, with their criminal records as stated in the Governor’s cover letters to the court, are:
- Cleveland Lindley, commutation. “In 1996, Mr. Lindley was convicted of robbery with sentence enhancements. He was sentenced to a prison term of 105 years to life. In 1989, Mr. Lindley sustained prior felony convictions for robbery and false imprisonment.”
- David Fitts, commutation. “In 1996, Mr. Fitts was convicted of first degree murder, attempted robbery, and attempted voluntary manslaughter with sentence enhancements. He was sentenced to a prison term of life without the possibility of parole. In 1993, Mr. Fitts sustained a prior felony conviction for assault with a firearm on a person.”
- Jeffrey Foy, pardon. “In 1998, Mr. Foy was convicted of possession of a controlled substance for sale. In 1999, he was convicted of possession of a firearm as a felon.”
- Jonathan Cannon, commutation. “In 2010, Mr. Cannon was convicted of robbery with sentence enhancements. He was sentenced to a prison term of 27 years. In 2002, Mr. Cannon sustained prior felony convictions for robbery and attempted robbery.”
- Joseph Bruno-Martinez, commutation. “In 2008, Mr. Bruno-Martinez was convicted of discharging a firearm at an inhabited vehicle and attempted murder with a sentence enhancement. He was sentenced to a prison term of 42 years to life. Mr. Bruno-Martinez has prior felony convictions for carrying a concealed weapon (2004) and possession of a controlled substance for sale (2006).”
- Kevin Schrubb, commutation. “In 2004, Mr. Schrubb was convicted of robbery, assault with a semiautomatic firearm, and evading an officer. He was sentenced to a prison term of 129 years to life. Mr. Schrubb has prior felony convictions for burglary (1983), assault with a firearm on a person (1986), receiving stolen property (1989, 1999), robbery (1990), and possession of burglary tools (1999).”
- Lewis Baker, pardon. “In 1998, Mr. Baker was convicted of maintaining a synthetic drug and manufacturing a controlled substance. In 2001, he was convicted of possession of a controlled substance for sale.”
- Mario Magallon, commutation. “In 2000, Mr. Magallon was convicted of kidnap to commit robbery and robbery with sentence enhancements. He was sentenced to a prison term of 108 years to life. In 1992, Mr. Magallon sustained a prior felony conviction for attempted robbery.”
- Reginold Daniels, pardon. “In 1989, 1993, and 2009, Mr. Daniels was convicted of drug-related felony offenses. In 1991 and 1997, he was convicted of possession of a firearm as a felon.”
- Sandra Johnson, pardon. “In 1982, Ms. Johnson was convicted of forgery. In 1988 and 1991, she was convicted of drug-related offenses.”
The court has said it reviews clemency recommendation requests under a deferential standard. (See here and here.) And Newsom has a nearly perfect record — he withdrew one request before a ruling, but the court has approved all 71 of his other requests that have been ruled on. That’s better than former Governor Jerry Brown, who had the court without explanation block 10 intended clemency grants. The denial of a request implies that a clemency grant would be an abuse of power.
The Governor’s requests were filed under seal. They will remain shielded from the public unless someone moves to unseal the records. If a motion is filed, the court will likely require Newsom to justify keeping all or part of the records under wraps and will then probably make redacted records available for viewing. (See here and here.)
[May 29 update: motions to unseal the clemency records for Fitts and Lindley prompted the court to return the records to Newsom so he can resubmit them with a justification for keeping them secret. (See here.)]
