California families react to commutation of 548 death sentences

Governor Gavin Newsom announced that he will commute the death sentences of 548 prisoners currently on California's death row. The decision immediately triggered reactions from families of murder victims across the state, with many expressing shock and anger over the sudden change in sentencing for their loved ones' killers.

Steve Herr, the father of Sam Herr, voiced the discontent of many families in Orange County. Sam Herr was an Army veteran who was murdered and dismembered by his neighbor in 2010. His remains were later discovered at the El Dorado Nature Center in Long Beach. Herr described the emotional toll of the governor's announcement on those who have mourned for years.

"We buried Sam at the National Cemetery in Riverside. And for 16 years, I have gone there every week and visited the grave," Herr said. He noted that the news forces families to re-experience the trauma of the original trial. "We're all reliving whatever we had gone through until the jury found him guilty, that the murderer was guilty and sentenced to death," he stated.

Daniel Wozniak was convicted in 2015 of killing Sam Herr and his friend Julie Kibuishi. Prosecutors alleged that Wozniak, who was deeply in debt, planned the murders to steal $50,000 that Herr had saved from his service in Afghanistan. The Orange County District Attorney's Office, which handled the case, labeled the governor's decision an absolutely unconscionable decision.

Kimberly Edds, a spokesperson for the district attorney's office, offered a sharper critique of the move. "This is a mercy for the wolves while inflicting maximum pain on the sheep," Edds told NBC Los Angeles. Herr added that the governor should have communicated directly with the families before making the announcement public.

"He could have had the decency to address the families one by one personally," Herr said. "To me, it's a very cowardly act. He could have done something besides that. He should never have done it, so he overruled everything." Herr pointed out that voters had previously rejected measures to abolish the death penalty, including Proposition 62 in 2016 and Proposition 34 in 2012.

Not all families oppose the commutations. A group of relatives of murder victims held a virtual news conference this week to support the governor's decision. These families are urging the California Supreme Court to act quickly to approve the governor's request for inmates convicted of multiple felonies. State law requires a judicial review of those specific cases before the clemency can be finalized.