Gavin Newsom grants clemency to 25, including Yuba County shooting convict
Gov. Gavin Newsom granted 16 pardons and nine commutations of sentences on Friday, including a Yuba County man convicted of attempted murder.
Californians bestowed with clemency include individuals convicted of murder to those who racked up drug charges. Newsom also posthumously pardoned a Sonoma County veteran who served in the Vietnam War, but was sentenced to a three years of probation after selling a controlled substance.
Newsom commuted the sentence of Yuba County man Corey Fernandez, who in 2010 shot one victim and assaulted another, according to the Newsom administration. He was convicted of attempted murder and assault, and received a sentence of 34 years and four months in prison, of which he has served more than 14 years.
Fernandez, an Olivehurst resident, was convicted of shooting his friend in the stomach and hitting another person with a rifle, according to Marysville’s Appeal-Democrat newspaper. Both victims survived.
Fernandez, 63, committed to “extensive self-help programming” and completed vocational training, according to the order granting his commutation.
“This act of clemency for Mr. Fernandez does not minimize or forgive his conduct or the harm it caused,” according to the order. “It does recognize the work he has done since to transform himself.”
The Board of Parole Hearings must determine if Fernandez’s sentence can be cut short. He is incarcerated at the Correctional Training Facility in Soledad.
The governor also recognized the extraordinary service of a former Army veteran who Newsom said faced severe struggles after serving his country.
Sgt. Richard “Butch” Penry saved 18 people while under siege from rocket and mortar fire, according to the Newsom administration. The attack in 1970 killed or wounded most of Penry’s platoon members, and resulted in the death of his company commander.
Former President Richard Nixon in 1971 awarded Penry the nation’s highest military honor, the Medal of Honor. But Penry struggled to adjust to civilian life and endured harassment related to his military service, according to the pardon. Penry died in 1994. He was 45.
“I further acknowledge that Sergeant Penry’s legacy, which includes both his heroic actions in combat as well as his personal struggle with the resulting trauma, serves as an inspiration to other veterans to seek treatment and support their fellow veterans,” Newsom wrote in his pardon order.
Newsom has granted 224 pardons and 150 commutations since becoming governor in 2019, according to his administration. He has traditionally announced clemency actions on the Friday before Easter, including last year.
