California's Cop Killers Get Mercy, Victims Get Bullets, Newsom's Action Unconscionable

This commentary is from former Riverside Police Chief Tom Weitzel:

At least 29 police officers and one corrections sergeant were murdered in the line of duty. Their killers were convicted and sentenced to death. Now, Governor Gavin Newsom is seeking to eliminate those death sentences as part of an initiative affecting 548 condemned offenders. What a slap in the face to the families of murdered police officers.

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After nearly four decades in law enforcement, including 13 years as a police chief, I find this decision indefensible. Juries heard the evidence, and courts imposed death sentences. Now, one governor wants to change those sentences through executive action.

My review has identified at least 29 convicted offenders in cases involving the murders of 32 law enforcement and correctional officers, whose death sentences are included in Governor Newsom's sweeping clemency initiative. These victims wore different uniforms, yet they shared the same commitment to public safety. Their sacrifices must not be overlooked.

I survived being shot in the line of duty in 1987. A bullet struck my ballistic vest and stopped inches from my heart. My wife got the early morning call every police family fears. I survived. These officers did not. Their families never had a second chance.

Newsom talks about fairness and the cost of capital punishment. I want to talk about the victims. Where is the compassion for their spouses, children, parents, and fellow officers? Where is the respect for juries and the judicial process?

Life without parole is a severe punishment, and these offenders will not be released. Some commutations still require approval by the California Supreme Court. However, including convicted police killers in this sweeping initiative raises profound questions about justice and accountability.

Where do California's elected officials, police leadership organizations, and prosecutors stand? Will they challenge this decision and insist that the families be heard?

Governor Newsom, these officers died protecting the public, their families were left to bury them, and their convicted killers now stand to benefit from your decision. The officers paid with their lives. Their families will suffer for a lifetime. And your legacy will carry the shame of giving their killers a mercy their victims never received.

The killings by the 29 identified condemned offenders on the California clemency list spanned more than four decades, from the killing of Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Jack Williams on May 29, 1979, to the murder of Sacramento Police Officer Tara O'Sullivan on June 19, 2019.