Gavin Newsom commutes prison sentences for 21 California inmates, pardons 5 more

Gov. Gavin Newsom commuted sentences of 21 California prison inmates — including 10 convicted of homicides— and granted pardons to five others, according to a Friday announcement from the governor’s office.

His office said he had been considering clemency for the inmates prior to the coronavirus outbreak, but acknowledged that the virus factored into his decisions. Public health officials and advocates for inmates worry the virus will spread easily in prisons.

“In addition to the public safety and justice factors that the governor normally considers when reviewing clemency cases, he also considered the public health impact of each grant, as well as each inmate’s individual health status and the suitability of their post-release plans, including housing,” spokeswoman Vicky Waters wrote in a press release.

As of Friday, at least 12 state California prison employees had tested positive for the virus, according to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Prison officials said nearly 200 inmates had been tested for COVID-19, with one testing positive in Lancaster at California State Prison, Los Angeles County.

Many of the pardoned and commuted committed the crimes while young, Waters said, and have since “participated in a range of rehabilitative programs and have demonstrated their transformation.”

Nearly all of those granted commutations were convicted of violent crimes. Ten were convicted of killing one or more people. The commutations make them eligible for parole hearings to determine if they should be released from prison, according to the governor’s office.

Two Sacramento County residents — Dominic Johnson, 40, and Shyrl Lamar, 68 — will be eligible for parole with the executive action, according to a press release.

Johnson served 20 years of his potential life sentence for shooting at a vehicle and injuring a passenger, according to the governor’s office.

Newsom’s office said he is suitable for release” because of his “his self-development efforts in prison, his good prospects for successful community reentry, and the fact that he was a youthful offender.”

Lamar served 33 years of her double-life sentence without the possibility of parole for her involvement in a robbery “in which her crime partner stabbed two victims to death,” the press release said. Lamar was 35 at the time.

The commutation will make her eligible for a parole suitability hearing.

“Ms. Lamar has resided in an honor dorm since 1992,” the release included. “Ms. Lamar has received numerous commendations from (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation) staff.”

Newsom is also pardoning Contra Costa County resident Monsuru Tijani, who was convicted of four felonies, one in Sacramento County, between 1986 and 1998. Tijani was convicted of perjury, check fraud and submitting false financial statements.

“He seeks a pardon to avoid deportation to Nigeria,” Newsom’s office said, “where he will face religious persecution and possible incarceration because of his conversion to Christianity. He will also face potential family separation from his wife and their one-year-old daughter.”

Some commutations already allow the grantees to appear before the Board of Parole, while other inmates will have to wait for a hearing within the next year or at some point in the future. Some of the grants make the individuals immediately eligible for parole.

The Bee Capitol Bureau’s Sophia Bollag contributed to this report.