Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said his office plans to challenge Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed blanket clemency for California’s condemned prisoners. The prosecutor’s office identified 49 death row inmates connected to crimes in Orange County, including serial killings, police murders and high-profile kidnappings. Spitzer said each case should be reviewed individually rather than through one statewide action. California’s Supreme Court is expected to consider hundreds of cases before any clemency becomes official.
Prosecutors, victims’ families and criminal justice advocates oppose the plan. They argue that commutations could overturn death sentences upheld through lengthy trials and appeals. Newsom’s office has said the inmates would not currently qualify for newer state parole guidelines, although critics warn that removing death sentences could create future opportunities for leniency.
| 1) | The legal challenge to blanket clemency |
|---|---|
| 2) | Serial killers among the identified inmates |
| 3) | Three cases involving slain police officers |
| 4) | Kidnapping, murder and other prominent cases |
| 5) | The broader debate over California’s death row |
The legal challenge to blanket clemency
Spitzer said his office planned to file a court challenge on Monday as Newsom faced opposition to a plan covering all 548 condemned inmates in California. Spitzer argued that clemency should be considered case by case because the original trials and appeals were conducted separately. He said the California Supreme Court had reviewed hundreds of death penalty cases and affirmed convictions and sentences, creating a legal conflict if those outcomes were later reversed through one action.
“This is an extraordinary power, commutation. It is to be used in extraordinary situations, not with the wave of a magic wand,” Todd Spitzer said.
Serial killers among the identified inmates
Randy Steven Kraft was convicted of raping, torturing and murdering at least 16 young men between 1972 and 1983. Investigators also suspected him in 51 additional deaths involving young men and boys. Gerald Parker, known as the “Bedroom Basher,” was convicted in the deaths of five women and an unborn child during the 1970s. DNA testing linked him to the crimes in 1996, and he received a death sentence in 1998.
The list also includes Steven Dean Gordon, a convicted child molester who, with an accomplice, killed at least four women between 2013 and 2014. Billy Joe Johnson, described as a White supremacist gang member, was involved in five murders, including the killing of a childhood friend and fellow gang member. The prosecutor’s office said Johnson had asked for the death penalty.
Three cases involving slain police officers
Three identified inmates were convicted in cases involving police officers. Kevin Dewayn Boyce killed off-duty Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Shayne York during a 1997 robbery at a hair salon. In 1996, Hung Thanh Mai shot California Highway Patrol Officer Don Joseph Burt multiple times during a Fullerton traffic stop and then fired an execution-style shot.
In June 1999, Maurice Gerald Steskal ambushed Orange County Sheriff’s Deputy Brad Riches while Riches was seated in his patrol car, shooting him 30 times with an AK-47 rifle.
Kidnapping, murder and other prominent cases
John Fitzgerald Kennedy and Skylar Deleon were convicted in the killing of an Arizona couple abducted in Newport Beach. Prosecutors said the victims were tied to an anchor and drowned about 55 miles offshore as the defendants sought money for a gender-confirmation operation. Deleon, a former child actor born John Jacobson Jr., was separately convicted in the 2003 Anaheim killing of Jon Jarvi.
John Joseph Famalaro, known as the “Cold Storage Killer,” abducted 23-year-old Denise Huber in 1991 after seeing her beside a road with a flat tire. Authorities said he took her to a warehouse, sexually assaulted and restrained her, killed her with a hammer and crowbar, and stored her body in a freezer truck.
The broader debate over California’s death row
California has not executed a condemned inmate in 20 years, while death row prisoners have generally been excluded from reforms that reduced sentences for other offenders. Newsom’s proposed commutations would remove death sentences while leaving the inmates imprisoned under other sentences. Opponents say the action disregards jury decisions, judicial review and the harm suffered by victims. Newsom’s office has responded that the prisoners would not currently qualify for newer parole guidelines. The dispute concerns whether future legal or policy changes could nevertheless make release more possible.
| Number | Key Point |
|---|---|
| 1 | An Orange County prosecutor plans a court challenge to statewide death row clemency. |
| 2 | The prosecutor’s office identified 49 inmates connected to Orange County crimes. |
| 3 | The cases include serial murders, police killings and kidnappings. |
| 4 | The California Supreme Court is expected to review cases before clemency becomes official. |
Summary
The planned challenge places California’s death penalty policy before the courts. The central question is whether the governor may apply one clemency action to every condemned inmate or whether each case requires separate consideration. The court review and the response from victims’ families will shape the next stage of the dispute.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is challenging the clemency plan?
Todd Spitzer, the Orange County district attorney, said his office planned to file a legal challenge.
How many inmates were identified?
The prosecutor’s office identified 49 death row inmates connected to crimes in Orange County, within a broader plan involving 548 condemned prisoners statewide.
What is the main argument against blanket clemency?
Opponents say each conviction and death sentence should be evaluated individually because the cases involved separate trials, appeals, victims and circumstances.
