New Democratic Governor commutes sentences for 21 inmates in California



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Citing the youths of several offenders when they committed their crimes, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced Friday that he had commuted the sentences of 21 inmates.

Most were convicted of murder or attempted murder; seven had served their life sentences without the possibility of parole.

The first-year Democratic governor criticized what he called the "disproportionate improvements in punishment" for some criminals, including the 25-year improvements to the use of a firearm.

Switching does not release detainees, but makes them eligible for parole hearings.

He repeatedly noted that the offender was complicit in the murder but did not pull the trigger. California has recently enacted laws restricting the so-called rule of criminal murder, as well as laws ensuring that young offenders are released on parole.

His office could not say whether these laws would have affected one of those whose sentences he commuted.

California Governor Gavin Newsom announced Friday that he was commuting the sentences of 21 inmates, most serving life sentences and several others who otherwise had no chance of getting out of jail. Decisions give them a chance to be released if a parole board agrees. (California Department of Correctional Services and Rehabilitation via AP)

California Governor Gavin Newsom announced Friday that he was commuting the sentences of 21 inmates, most serving life sentences and several others who otherwise had no chance of getting out of jail. Decisions give them a chance to be released if a parole board agrees. (California Department of Correctional Services and Rehabilitation via AP)

Newsom's predecessor, Jerry Brown, had criticized the many improvements made to the sentence under California law, many of which had been enacted in the 1980s and 1990s. State lawmakers were on the brink of it send a bill to end a mandatory one – year extension for repeated non – violent crimes, although Newsom has not yet said it will sign it.

The governor commuted the sentence of an 80-year-old woman, Doris Roldan, who was serving a life sentence without parole in Los Angeles County for having worked with two accomplices to kill her husband at home. 42 years old.

But he cited the teenager of 16 offenders, including several teenagers and one convicted of a minor.

Newsom's office reported studies that the part of the brain responsible for impulse control was not maturing before adulthood, as well as the ability of offenders to recidivate and rehabilitate. He noted that federal and state courts and California lawmakers have all concluded that juvenile offenders must have a meaningful opportunity to obtain parole.

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Two other inmates have benefited from a training program and socialization of dogs rescued from animal shelters, some ready to help veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

The Paws for Life program states that former Governor Brown also recognized the program, which would have had the largest number of life sentences among any state programs.

Associated Press contributed to this report.

Click for more Fox 11 Los Angeles.

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