Governor Newsom last week asked the Supreme Court to recommend clemency for 11 more people, including commutations for four serving life without parole sentences. A court recommendation is a constitutional prerequisite for a gubernatorial grant of clemency to anyone who has been “twice convicted of a felony.”
The 11, with their criminal records as stated in the Governor’s cover letters to the court, are:
Wendell Sparks: Commutation. “In 1984, Mr. Sparks was convicted of first degree murder and attempted murder. He was sentenced to a prison term of life without the possibility of parole. In 1979, Mr. Sparks sustained a prior felony conviction for burglary.”
Vertis Bayne: Commutation. “In 2004, Mr. Bayne was convicted of attempted murder. He was sentenced to a prison term of 60 years to life. Mr. Bayne has prior felony convictions for distribution of a controlled substance (1999), robbery (2000), and possession of a firearm (2003).”
Undrae Pettaway: Commutation. “In 1992, Mr. Pettaway was convicted of first degree murder. He was sentenced to a prison term of life without the possibility of parole. Mr. Pettaway has prior felony convictions for burglary (1980, 1982), accessory (1980), grand theft auto (1981), theft by use of credit card (1982), vehicle theft (1982), and attempted grand theft (1986).”
Tobias Gomez, Jr.: Pardon. “In 2002 and 2004, Mr. Gomez was convicted of second degree robbery. In 2013, Mr. Gomez was convicted of possession of a controlled substance for sale.”
Tien Mo: Commutation. “In 2002, Ms. Mo was convicted of first degree murder. She was sentenced to a prison term of life without the possibility of parole. In 1998, Ms. Mo sustained prior felony convictions for burglary, vehicle theft, and credit card theft.”
Reddy Rajesh: Pardon. “In 1994, Mr. Rajesh was convicted of sale of a controlled substance. In 1998, Mr. Rajesh was convicted of possession of a controlled substance for sale.”
Michael Heck: Pardon. “In 1990, Mr. Heck was convicted of taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent. In 1995, Mr. Heck was convicted of second degree burglary. In 2002, Mr. Heck was convicted of second degree burglary, forgery, false personation, and unlawful use of personal identification.”
Khamphang Sida: Pardon. “In 1998, Mr. Sida was convicted of possession of a controlled substance. In 2004, Mr. Sida was convicted of possession of a controlled substance for sale.”
Jesus Espinosa: Commutation. “In 2013, Mr. Espinosa was convicted of attempted murder. He was sentenced to a prison term of 30 years. In 2006, Mr. Espinosa sustained a prior felony conviction for assault with a deadly weapon.”
Gary Marshall: Pardon. “In 1972, Mr. Marshall was convicted of second degree burglary. In 1974, Mr. Marshall was convicted of nonsufficient funds.”
Alfonso Villegas: Commutation. “In 1996, Mr. Villegas was convicted of first degree murder. He was sentenced to a prison term of life without the possibility of parole. Mr. Villegas has prior felony convictions for burglary (1971), plant/cultivate marijuana/hash (1981), and felon in possession of a firearm (1991).”
The LWOP commutations wouldn’t require any prisoner releases, at least not right away. Rather, the Governor told the court that, for each of the four LWOPs, he “is contemplating a commutation of sentence that would make [the prisoner] eligible for a parole suitability hearing.” For Bayne, the Governor is contemplating “an earlier parole suitability hearing.” And, for Espinosa, who is currently eligible for release in June 2028, the Governor is contemplating “eligib[ility] for earlier release.” (Related: “Newsom grants clemency, but freedom isn’t certain”.)
The court has previously approved 21 Newsom requests for commutations of LWOP sentences. He has not sought clemency for any death row inmates. (See here.) Notably, two of those 21 requests were approved after the court had denied earlier requests by Governor Jerry Brown for the same people. (See here and here.) A third such request is pending. (See here.)
Overall, Newsom has a nearly perfect clemency record: he withdrew one request before a ruling, but the court — applying a deferential standard (see here and here) — has approved all 106 of his other requests. (Not counting the now 18 requests that are still pending, including now seven LWOP commutation requests.) That’s better than former Governor 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.) LWOP commutation requests regularly draw unseal motions from the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office.
