Assemblyman Lackey Seeks to Extend Commutation Review Period

On Tuesday, Assemblyman Tom Lackey (R-Palmdale) introduced a bill that would extend the review time before the governor would make the decision to approve or deny an application for commutation of a death sentence.

“On March 13, Governor Newsom directly contradicted the will of the people of California by placing an indefinite hold on the 737 inmates currently sentenced to death. In 2016, Californians spoke loud and clear by rejecting a plan to repeal the death penalty by a decisive margin,” said Lackey.

He added that in order to give a voice back to the people, he introduced Assembly Bill 580 which he says will do three things:

1. Governor now has 30 days to act on a commutation
2. The District Attorney must notify families 25 days prior to commutation
3. Allows the victims family to explain why a perpetrator should remain on death row.

The Board of Parole Hearings would then provide the governor with a recommendation to either approve or deny the application.

“The people that the governor is trying to protect are people like serial killer Robert Rhodes. Rhodes kidnapped, raped and tortured 8-year-old Michael Lyons before stabbing him 70-times,” said Lackey.  “The people on death row are not the victims, they are not who the state should be working to protect. They have abused, they have raped, they have kidnapped, they have tortured and some of them have even murdered their own children. AB 580 empowers the families of victims and shows their loved ones have not been forgotten.”

According to the Bill:

The California Constitution allows the Governor, on conditions the Governor deems proper, to grant a reprieve, pardon, and commutation, after sentence, subject to application procedures provided by statute. Existing law allows the Board of Parole Hearings to report to the Governor the names of imprisoned persons who it determines ought to have a commutation of sentence. Existing law requires a person applying for commutation of sentence to serve written notice of the intention to apply for commutation on the appropriate district attorney at least 10 days before the Governor acts on the application for commutation of sentence. Existing law requires the district attorney to make reasonable efforts to notify the victim of the crime and their family.

This bill would require the applicant to serve written notice on the district attorney 30 days before the Governor acts upon an application for a commutation of a sentence of death. The bill would require notice of an application for commutation of a sentence of death to be given to a requesting family member of the victim at least 25 days before the Governor acts on the application, as provided. The bill would require the Governor to ensure the victim’s family has been provided with notice before acting upon the application. The bill would allow a family member of a victim to request a public hearing before the board regarding the proposed commutation of a sentence of death and would require the board to submit its recommendation to the Governor within 30 days of the hearing. The bill would prohibit a commutation of a sentence of death from taking effect until the board has submitted its recommendation to the Governor or 30 days after the hearing, whichever is earlier.

For more on AB 580, click here.