At least a dozen California district attorneys are publicly condemning Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to commute all 548 death sentences in the state, arguing the sweeping move overrides juries, disregards victims’ families and defies the will of state voters.

Newsom announced the plan Thursday, saying state-sanctioned killing is incompatible with California’s values. The move would convert the sentences to life without parole, though 382 cases still require approval from at least four California Supreme Court justices, according to the Associated Press.

In response, prosecuting attorneys across California have raised concerns about victims’ rights, the governor’s constitutional authority and the role of the California Supreme Court in reviewing hundreds of the commutations.

«Justice requires case-by-case consideration, not one-size-fits-all decisions,» Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho said in response to Newsom’s action.

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Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer described the move as «mercy for the wolves» that inflicts «the ultimate act of cruelty on the sheep.»

Spitzer noted that regulations implemented by California’s Board of Parole Hearings on Oct. 1 allow thousands of prisoners serving life without parole to become eligible for parole, arguing that Newsom’s latest death row commutations could put these inmates «one step closer» to release. Newsom’s office says, however, that the affected prisoners will remain in prison and are not eligible for release.

«The Governor is attempting to appear courageous with this decision. He is not courageous. His commutations are solely based upon power and political aspirations,» added San Bernardino County District Attorney Jason Anderson, who accused Newsom of caring more about politics than people. «Courage would require speaking with crime victims and the surviving family members of the people murdered by these death row inmates.»

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Anderson cited the case of Kevin Cooper, a California death-row inmate convicted of killing Josh Ryen’s parents and sister, along with Ryen’s friend, Chris Hughes, and leaving Ryen for dead.

Anderson said Newsom had not contacted Ryen or Hughes’ mother, Mary Ann Hughes, to ask their views on a possible commutation — and that Ryen has never received a call from the governor.

«Courage would require the Governor to follow Marsy’s Law, California’s constitutional rights belonging to victims of crime,» Anderson continued. «He has not. I am not aware of any victims’ family members receiving notice of these commutations from the Governor.»

Meanwhile, Anderson and several other California prosecutors who spoke out against Newsom’s death row commutations also framed the dispute as a challenge to the jury system and an override of the will of California voters. They said jurors in each case heard the evidence, weighed all the necessary factors and decided whether death was warranted, with judges and appellate courts later reviewing those verdicts. Newsom’s blanket action, they argue, substitutes one statewide decision for hundreds of individualized judgments.

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«A single order commuting all of them would set aside hundreds of individualized judgments without examining the facts of even one,» San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow said.

«It invalidates the exhausting, emotionally wrenching work of our citizens who sat on juries, weighed horrific evidence, and delivered lawful verdicts. Most unforgivably, it is a slap in the face to victims and their families,» said San Joaquin District Attorney Ron Freitas. «This decision does not bind wounds; it tears them wide open, all over again.»

The prosecutors pointed out that California voters rejected death-penalty repeal initiatives in 2012 and 2016 while approving Proposition 66 in 2016, which changed procedures for challenging death sentences and was promoted by supporters as a way to speed up the process. The district attorneys argued Newsom’s blanket action overrides those ballot-box decisions without repealing the law.

«A blanket commutation is a mass erasure of justice. It overrides the will of California voters who have repeatedly defended capital punishment at the ballot box,» Freitas added in his response to Newsom’s action.

Some California prosecutors who spoke out against Newsom’s controversial move signaled that the dispute may not end with public statements. San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said her office was «researching any lawful remedies» that would allow victims’ voices to be heard and considered, while Kern County District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer was more direct, saying, «This assault on justice will be challenged.»

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Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman acknowledged that commuting existing sentences falls within the governor’s constitutional authority, but said, «That power does not extend to eliminating the death penalty. Only the Legislature or the voters can do that.» Newsom’s clemency announcement clarifies that it «does not repeal the death penalty» and is limited to commuting California’s current death sentences.

Digital reached out to Newsom’s office for comment but did not hear back in time for publication.

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El excónsul general de Haití en República Dominicana y director ejecutivo de la Fundación Zile, Edwin Paraison, calificó de “totalmente descabellado” que el líder de la peligrosa banda criminal haitiana 400 Mawozo, Wilson Joseph, pretenda arrogarse la vocería para anunciar misiones diplomáticas o una eventual negociación con la Organización de las Naciones Unidas (ONU).

En declaraciones exclusivas ofrecidas a Noticias Telemicro, el exdiplomático desestimó rotundamente los planteamientos del cabecilla criminal, conocido en el bajo mundo como “Lanmò Sanjou” o “La Montagne”, quien recientemente afirmó que una comisión del organismo internacional arribaría a territorio haitiano el próximo 18 de noviembre para entablar un proceso de diálogo y mediación.

Frente a este panorama, Paraison subrayó que “Que una persona sancionada por las Naciones Unidas, además de ser un pandillero y también considerados todos como terroristas, hubiese sido quien anuncie la llegada de una misión de paz de parte de las Naciones Unidas en Haití, es totalmente descabellado”.

Con estas palabras, el exfuncionario evidenció la inviabilidad de que un organismo multilateral otorgue legitimidad institucional o coordine agendas formales con un fugitivo de la justicia internacional.

El creciente cerco táctico —robustecido con la presencia y apoyo logístico de contingentes de seguridad, incluidos militares salvadoreños desplegados en misiones de evacuación médica y soporte operacional, ha neutralizado corredores estratégicos de suministro y asfixiado las posiciones de la banda.

En el mismo reporte de Noticias Telemicro, el experto en derecho internacional Pascal Peña analizó las implicaciones que tendría cualquier intento de sentarse en una mesa diplomática con estructuras ilícitas. Peña advirtió que legitimar una iniciativa semejante obligaría a replantear por completo el mandato de la fuerza internacional.

Aunque el portavoz de la ONU, Stéphane Dujarric, confirmó ante la prensa internacional que la correspondencia había sido recibida por las vías regulares del organismo, aclaró de inmediato que acusar recibo no equivale a validar, legitimar ni abrir ningún canal de negociación con el líder de una red armada criminal.

Analistas y observadores coinciden en que este sorpresivo giro retórico responde a un estado de desesperación operativa. Tras meses de desafiar abiertamente al Estado y exhibir fusiles de asalto, municiones de alto calibre y tácticas de guerra urbana, la organización criminal ha comenzado a replegarse ante la intensificación de las operaciones terrestres en áreas neurálgicas como Croix-des-Bouquets, Ganthier y la llanura de Cul-de-Sac.

Perfil del líder criminal: prontuario y antecedentes de Wilson Joseph

Wilson Joseph, alias “Lanmò Sanjou” (expresión en criollo haitiano que se traduce como “La muerte no tiene día”), encabeza la temida pandilla 400 Mawozo, una de las organizaciones delictivas más violentas y numerosas de Haití, especializada en extorsión masiva, robo de cargamentos y secuestros extorsivos.

El prontuario de Joseph alcanzó notoriedad global en octubre de 2021, tras liderar el secuestro de 17 personas pertenecientes a la organización Christian Aid Ministries —16 ciudadanos estadounidenses y un canadiense, entre ellos cinco niños— en la zona de Ganthier. Por fortuna, lograron sobrevivir y recuperar su libertad dos meses después.

Por este crimen, en el que exigía un millón de dólares por cada cautivo bajo amenaza de ejecución, el Departamento de Justicia de Estados Unidos presentó cargos formales en su contra por conspiración para la toma de rehenes y secuestro armado. En respuesta, el FBI emitió una orden de captura internacional ofreciendo una recompensa de hasta un millón de dólares por información que conduzca a su arresto.

Adicionalmente, Joseph se encuentra bajo severas sanciones financieras impuestas por el Consejo de Seguridad de la ONU y el Departamento del Tesoro de EE. UU., señalado por:

• Homicidios colectivos
• Violación de derechos humanos
• Tráfico de armamento pesado
• Ataques indiscriminados contra poblaciones civiles e infraestructuras críticas.

Su reciente intento de vestir con ropajes de paz a una organización imputada internacionalmente por crímenes de lesa humanidad refleja, según diplomáticos y juristas, una maniobra desesperada ante el cierre definitivo de sus bastiones territoriales.

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District attorneys and law enforcement unions across California have publicly condemned Gov. Gavin Newsom following his announcement to commute the sentences of 548 death row inmates, a decision one prosecutor called a slap in the face to victims’ families.

Newsom’s sweeping order to commute the condemned inmates to life in prison without the possibility of parole has drawn intense criticism alongside praise from anti-death penalty advocates.

«I think it’s all about politics, sadly. Politics is over people in this case, and that’s a real sad state of affairs,» San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow told Digital.

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In an open letter detailing his decision, Newsom said California’s capital punishment system is fundamentally at odds with the state’s principles.

«After nearly 30 years in public office, I have come to understand the limits of what government can justly accomplish,» Newsom wrote. «I take this action because I firmly believe that state-sanctioned killing is incompatible with California’s values, undermines the foundations of our legal system, and diminishes each of us.»

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Upon taking office in 2019, Newsom issued an executive moratorium on capital punishment. California has not carried out an execution since 2006.

The backlash to the governor’s announcement was immediate.

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«Justice will not have been served for these victims, dozens of them in San Diego County,» said Lt. Jared Wilson, president of the San Diego Police Officers Association. «Their last memories were of these evil, evil men who took their lives. What Gavin Newsom has done is awful.»

Wilson and other law enforcement officials strongly criticized the blanket clemency, citing cases like that of Jesse Michael Gomez, who was sentenced to death for the 2016 murder of San Diego police officer Jonathan «J.D.» De Guzman.

«Californians have been asked on two separate ballot initiatives to abolish the death penalty, and both times they have chosen to keep it for the most serious crimes,» said Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman. «Until the law is changed, my office will continue to evaluate every death penalty-eligible case with the rigor, care, and restraint these decisions demand.»

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Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer called the commutations «mercy for the wolves … while inflicting the ultimate act of cruelty on the sheep,» saying voters in California have upheld the death penalty in recent years.

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, who previously ran for governor, noted that 127 inmates on California’s death row were sentenced for crimes committed in his county.

«These sentences were not handed down without due process,» he said. «They followed extensive investigations, lengthy trials, evidence presented in court, and decisions made by juries and judges.

«Yet, with one sweeping executive decision, the governor has chosen to override those outcomes, disregarding the voices of victims’ families, the work of prosecutors, and the pursuit of justice that took years to achieve.»

Among the 548 inmates whose sentences were commuted are two men convicted in San Luis Obispo County: Michael Whisenhunt, 61, who was sentenced to death for the 1995 torture and murder of his girlfriend’s 1-year-old daughter, Kesha Gurke; and Rex Krebs, 60, who was convicted in the brutal slayings of two female college students.

CHARLES MANSON CULT FOLLOWER BRUCE DAVIS, CONVICTED IN TWO 1969 KILLINGS, DIES BEHIND BARS AT 83

Dow noted that families of the victims were neither consulted nor notified prior to Newsom’s public announcement.

«I was just sickened, frankly, for the crime victims in California who were slapped in the face by our governor,» Dow said.

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Addressing arguments from anti-death penalty groups who contend that capital punishment is inherently flawed and racially biased, Dow defended the current legal framework.

«We have a rigorous defense procedure that weeds out cases. I have strong confidence in the integrity of our convictions,» he said.

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