Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office announced Wednesday that he has granted clemency to five people who committed their crimes in counties in the greater Bay Area.
The state constitution allows the governor to grant clemency to the executive branch in the form of a pardon, commutation or reprieve. According to Newsom’s office, the governor bases his decisions on the beneficiary’s self-fulfillment and post-conviction responsibility.
Newsom pardoned two people who committed their crimes in Alameda County.
Sikwayi Dawson was sentenced in 1994 to three years’ probation and six days in jail for possessing a base of cocaine, also known as crack cocaine, while armed.
In the 1990s, the penalty for possession of crack was much heavier than that of powder cocaine. This was remedied in 2010 by the federal Fair Sentencing Act.
Newsom’s office acknowledged that Dawson had received a certificate of rehabilitation from San Joaquin County, saying it was “evidence that she has lived an upright life.”
Gabriel Freeland, who now lives in Arizona, was convicted in 1992 in Alameda County of assault or battery with a deadly weapon. He was sentenced to three years of probation and 90 days in jail.
Freeland used a wooden stick during a group fight, according to Newsom’s office. In 1996, Freeland was again convicted of a crime, this time robbery, for which he spent a year in prison and three years on probation.
Newsom said the act of clemency for both Dawson and Freeland “does not minimize or forgive their conduct or the harm it caused,” but it does recognize the work they have done since then to transform themselves.
Andy Silvestre, who now lives in Arizona, was convicted in Monterey County in 1990 of possessing or purchasing cocaine base for sale. He was sentenced to 120 days in jail and three years of probation.
“Under the laws of this state, it is proper that I, as Governor of the State of California, testify that Mr. Silvestre, through completion of his sentence and good conduct in the community, deserves this pardon,” Newsom wrote.
In Sonoma County, Damian Clapton was sentenced to five years in prison in 2009 for possession of a controlled substance and transporting a controlled substance for sale.
“He has provided evidence that he is living an upstanding life and has demonstrated his fitness for the restoration of civil rights and responsibilities,” Newsom’s official statement on his pardon said.
Finally, in 1992, William Velasco was convicted in San Mateo County of possession of a controlled substance for sale and transportation of a controlled substance for sale.
In 2017, a Solano County Superior Court judge granted Velasco a certificate of rehabilitation and recommended he be pardoned, which Newsom obliged.
A total of 19 people in the state recently received clemency from the governor after petitioning for it.
Receiving a pardon from a governor can restore a person’s right to vote or run for office, allow a person to serve on a jury, and give him or her a better chance at obtaining a professional license, among other things. to get a government.
