Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

2 days ago

Trump Says He’s Willing to Let Migrant Farm Laborers Stay in US

2 days ago

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

3 days ago

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

3 days ago

Trump’s Sweeping Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Wins Congressional Approval

3 days ago

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

3 days ago

US Supreme Court to Decide Legality of Transgender School Sports Bans

3 days ago

Nvidia Set to Become the World’s Most Valuable Company in History

3 days ago

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

3 days ago
Victims' Parents Urge Newsom to Stop Death Penalty Reprieve
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
April 12, 2019

Share

SACRAMENTO — Parents of Californians murdered by people now on death row shared gruesome details of their loved ones’ killings Thursday as they launched a statewide tour to urge Gov. Gavin Newsom to reverse his moratorium on executions.

“He was like a thief in the night that stole justice from us.”Phyllis Loya, whose son Larry Lasater Jr. was killed on duty as a police officer
“He was like a thief in the night that stole justice from us,” said Phyllis Loya, whose son Larry Lasater Jr. was killed on duty as a police officer.
Newsom last month issued a reprieve to the more than 700 people sitting on California’s death row, meaning none will be executed as long as he is in office. He also ordered the state to withdraw its lethal injection regulations and dismantled the “death chamber” at San Quentin State Prison.
California’s death row is the nation’s largest, but the state has not executed anyone since 2006. Voters in 2016 approved a ballot measure to speed up executions, and district attorneys and the families of victims’ accused Newsom of defying the voters’ will.
Todd Spitzer, Orange County’s district attorney, said the “Victims of Murder Justice” tour will travel to all 80 Assembly and 40 Senate districts. He did not announce new legal actions aimed at stopping Newsom’s moratorium. But Spitzer requested that Newsom review each case individually to make clemency decisions rather than issuing a blanket reprieve. He also said the tour is designed to pressure lawmakers; a proposal has been introduced to again put a measure to permanently stop the death penalty on the 2020 ballot.
Families criticized Newsom for saying he couldn’t sleep at night knowing an innocent person might be killed, saying they could not sleep because they had seen their children’s bodies defiled and, in one case, sewn back together.

Mother Said Newsom Owed Her a One-on-One Meeting

“A real leader would say let me listen to this case by case,” said Steve Herr, whose son Sam Herr was murdered in 2010 by Daniel Wozniak, who shot Herr in the head, made it look as if he raped a female victim and dismembered him. Herr said Newsom will never know what it was like to see the murder scene and, later, his son’s body sewn back together so it could be buried in one piece.

“You turned the knife again in my heart. I dare you to meet with me and I can give you some facts that you don’t want to hear. I challenge you Gov. Newsom — come meet with me.” — Jeri Oliver, whose son Danny Oliver was killed while on duty as a Sacramento sheriff’s deputy
Jeri Oliver, whose son Danny Oliver was killed while on duty as a Sacramento sheriff’s deputy, had perhaps the harshest words for Newsom. Luis Bracamontes was convicted last year for Oliver’s murder and said during the trial he wished he had killed more cops. Oliver said Newsom owed her a one-on-one meeting to discuss the case.
“You turned the knife again in my heart,” Oliver said. “I dare you to meet with me and I can give you some facts that you don’t want to hear. I challenge you Gov. Newsom — come meet with me.”
Newsom has said the death penalty is applied unevenly and often discriminates based on race and class and creates the possibility of an innocent person being executed.
Spokesman Jesse Melgar said Newsom sends his “heartfelt condolences to survivor families.”
“The Governor sought out and heard from many survivor families as he was making his decision on the death penalty,” Melgar said in an email. “Some supported the death penalty while others strongly believed the state shouldn’t take another life in the name of their loved one.”
National Crime Victims’ Rights Week began Monday, and several attendees said Newsom should have spent it meeting with crime victims in California rather than traveling to El Salvador. Newsom spent three days in the Central American country to learn about the poverty and violence driving migrants to come to the United States.
Newsom’s office did not offer comment on that criticism.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

DON'T MISS

What’s Caitlin Clark Worth to the WNBA? A Lot More Than Her $78,066 Salary.

DON'T MISS

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

DON'T MISS

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

DON'T MISS

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

DON'T MISS

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

DON'T MISS

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

DON'T MISS

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

DON'T MISS

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

UP NEXT

Fresno Crash Involving Unlicensed Teen Driver Sends Woman to Hospital

UP NEXT

Madre Fire Burns More Than 52,000 Acres in San Luis Obispo County

UP NEXT

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

UP NEXT

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Grows to 35,000 Acres, More Evacuations Ordered

UP NEXT

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

UP NEXT

Poorest Americans Dealt Biggest Blow Under Senate Republican Tax Package

UP NEXT

CHP Officer Dies in Line of Duty After Medical Emergency While on Patrol

UP NEXT

Downtown Housing Could Rise in Many California Cities, but Barriers Remain

UP NEXT

Poll: Most Americans Say National Divide, Political Violence Threaten Democracy

UP NEXT

Trump Pulls Back 150 Guard Troops From Federal Duties in California

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

2 days ago

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

2 days ago

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

2 days ago

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

2 days ago

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

2 days ago

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

2 days ago

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

2 days ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rachelle Maria Blanco

2 days ago

Russia Pounds Kyiv With Largest Drone Attack, Hours After Trump-Putin Call

2 days ago

Boxer Chavez Jr Expected to Be Deported to Mexico to Serve Sentence, Mexican President Says

2 days ago

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

Can you hear it — that loud roar coming from the East? It’s the sound of 1.4 billion Chinese laughing at us. Thomas L. Friedman The New Yo...

21 hours ago

Solar Farm in Riesel, Texas
21 hours ago

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

Caitlin Clark Signs T-Shirt
22 hours ago

What’s Caitlin Clark Worth to the WNBA? A Lot More Than Her $78,066 Salary.

President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 12, 2025. (Reuters File)
2 days ago

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

The Madre Fire burning near New Cuyama has scorched 70,801 acres as of Friday, July 4, 2025, afternoon, making it California’s largest wildfire of the year, with only 10% containment and multiple evacuation zones in place. (CalFire)
2 days ago

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

2 days ago

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

A pumpjack operates at the Vermilion Energy site in Trigueres, France, June 14, 2024. (Reuters File)
2 days ago

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

Palestinians gather to collect what remains of relief supplies from the distribution center of the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 5, 2025. (Reuters File)
2 days ago

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

Billy Wayne Sinisgalli, a 54-year-old transient known locally as Wayne, was found dead along a rural Fresno road Wednesday in what authorities are investigating as a suspicious death. (Fresno County SO)
2 days ago

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend