California Gov. Gavin Newsom points dozens of clemency grants

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday granted clemency to dozens of people, in the form of 37 pardons and 18 commutations.

According to the governor’s office, clemency “recognizes the grantee’s self-development and accountability after conviction. A clemency grant does not forgive or minimize the harm the grantee caused.”

Pardons can remove barriers to employment, restore civic rights and responsibilities, and prevent deportations and permanent family separations, according to the governor’s office. Commutations make an incarcerated person eligible to go before the Board of Parole Hearings for consideration of parole.

“The Governor weighs numerous factors in his review of clemency applications, including an applicant’s self-development and conduct since the offense, whether the grant is in the interest of justice, and the impact of a grant on the community, including crime victims and survivors,” according to Newsom’s office.

Since his first term began in 2019, Newsom has issued 181 pardons, 141 commutations and 40 reprieves.

Among those receiving a commutation, thus making them eligible for consideration of early parole, were Rodney Buckley and Terrance Harris.

Buckley was convicted by the Sacramento County Superior Court in 2009 on two counts of attempted murder and received a sentence of 59 years and four months to life in prison.

Harris fatally shot a person in a park in 2001 and three years later the Sacramento County Superior Court convicted him of murder and sentenced him to 50 years to life.

In both Buckley and Harris’ cases, Newsom’s office noted that they were youthful offenders — Buckley was 19 and Harris was 20. Newsom’s office notes that both men have devoted themselves to self-improvement while incarcerated. Harris serves as chairman of the inmate advisory committee at his prison.

“Correctional staff and correctional medical staff have commended Mr. Harris for his rehabilitative gains and extraordinary service to staff and other incarcerated people in his institution during the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to the commutation of sentence.

This story was initially printed March 29, 2024, 9:00 PM.

Andrew Sheeler covers California’s distinctive political local weather for The Sacramento Bee. He has coated crime and politics from inside Alaska to North Dakota’s oil patch to the rugged coast of southern Oregon. He attended the College of Alaska Fairbanks.