Governor Newsom grants executive clemency

 


SACRAMENTO – Following his proclamation declaring Veterans Day and highlighting major investments in veterans’ mental health, Governor Gavin Newsom today announced that he has granted five pardons to veterans who served honorably in our nation’s Armed Forces.

The Governor also announced that he has initiated the process for granting a posthumous pardon to Sergeant Richard Allen Penry, an Army Veteran who received the Medal of Honor, our nation’s highest military honor. Sergeant Penry was born in Petaluma and served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. In 1971, President Nixon presented Sergeant Penry the Medal of Honor for “extraordinary heroism at the risk of his own life.”

Sergeant Penry returned from active duty at a time when there were few resources for veterans and little understanding of PTSD. He struggled with reentry to civilian life and self-medicated through substance use, which was the context for his drug-related convictions. Because Sergeant Penry had more than one felony conviction, the Governor cannot grant a pardon without the approval of the California Supreme Court.

The California Constitution gives the Governor the authority to grant executive clemency in the form of a pardon, commutation, or reprieve. 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, correct unjust results in the legal system, and address the health needs of incarcerated people with high medical risks.

Clemency recognizes the grantee’s self-development and accountability after conviction. A clemency grant does not forgive or minimize the harm the grantee caused.

A pardon may remove counterproductive barriers to employment and public service, restore civic rights and responsibilities, and prevent unjust collateral consequences of conviction, such as deportation and permanent family separation. A pardon does not expunge or erase a conviction.

The Governor weighs numerous factors in his review of clemency applications, including an applicant’s self-development and conduct since the offense, whether the grant is in the interest of justice, and the impact of a grant on the community, including crime victims and survivors.