SACRAMENTO - Governor Gavin Newsom today announced multiple clemency actions. He granted pardons in three cases. He also sent multiple clemency cases to the Board of Parole Hearings, initiating the process for granting clemency in fifteen cases. He also sent two clemency applications to the Board and directed the Board to conduct risk assessment investigations.

The California Constitution gives the Governor the authority to grant clemency in the form of a pardon, commutation, or reprieve. In cases where the applicant has more than one felony conviction, the Governor must first get the approval of the Board of Parole Hearings and the California Supreme Court. The Board of Parole Hearings also investigates clemency applications at the Governor’s request. 

The Governor issues clemency grants only when they are consistent with public safety. In making this determination, the Governor weighs numerous factors including the applicant’s self-development and conduct since the offense and the impact of a grant on the community, including crime victims and survivors. Clemency recognizes rehabilitative change after conviction. A clemency grant does not forgive or minimize the crime and the harm it caused.

The Governor regards clemency as an important part of the criminal justice system that can incentivize accountability and rehabilitation, increase public safety by removing counterproductive barriers to successful reentry, and correct unjust results in the legal system. 

While in office, Governor Newsom has granted a total of 208 pardons, 141 commutations, and 42 reprieves.

The Governor’s Office encourages victims, survivors, and witnesses to register with CDCR’s Office of Victims and Survivors Rights and Services to receive information about an incarcerated person’s status. For general information about victim services, to learn about victim-offender dialogues, or to register or update a registration confidentially, please click here or call 1-877-256-6877 (toll free).

Copies of the gubernatorial clemency certificates announced today can be found here. The cases the Governor sent today to the Board of Parole Hearings for a recommendation will be scheduled for a future hearing. Those agendas will be posted here.

Additional information on executive clemency can be found here.