Polly Klaas's Father Says Newsom's Death Row Move Is "Absolutely Heartbreaking"

Gov. Gavin Newsom has announced that he will commute every death sentence in California, 548 of them, to life without parole. The list includes Richard Allen Davis, convicted in the 1993 kidnapping and murder of Polly Klaas. The notes give 1996 as the year of his conviction, per Wikipedia.

Polly's father, Marc Klaas, reacted publicly within days. In a Monday interview on Fox News's "Americas Newsroom," he called the governor's move "absolutely heartbreaking," according to Breitbart, which published a clip and transcript of the segment.

The announcement, made Thursday, Nov. 5, comes roughly eight years after the 2019 moratorium on executions that Newsom imposed two months after taking office. That moratorium paused executions. The commutations would convert the sentences themselves. How and when they take effect is still unresolved, and much of what follows rests on search snippets and one full transcript, not on the governor's order.

A Father Hears the News in a Courtroom

Klaas told CNN he was in court supporting another family when he heard the news. He described the decision as "a shiv in my back." The San Francisco Chronicle, in coverage syndicated by Yahoo, reported that he called the commutations a "dastardly deed."

Newsom has tied his decision in part to the Klaas family. The Chronicle reported that the governor said a late-October conversation with Polly's sisters shaped his decision. He also cited a 2019 meeting in which Marc Klaas urged him against a moratorium. In a statement reported by CNN, Jess Nichol said she once believed her sister's killer deserved to be executed.

In the Fox segment, as presented by Breitbart, Klaas spoke about other inmates on California's death row. He said Charles Ng murdered "11 women" and that Ramon Salcido murdered his family. Those are Klaas's characterizations, and the Salcido claim appears only in the Breitbart transcript. CNN and OAN describe Ng's victims as 11 people, a discrepancy this outlet has not resolved.

Newsom's Case for Clemency

In a letter to Californians, Newsom called the decision "among the most difficult of my career," the Chronicle reported. According to that paper, he said he believes innocent people may be on death row, adding, "All the experts believe that." That remark has so far been reported only through the Chronicle's coverage, which we have seen only in snippets. We have not obtained the governor's order or his full letter.

Prosecutors and Law Enforcement Respond

California law-enforcement leaders criticized the decision, OAN reported. Former Los Angeles District Attorney Gil Garcetti told CNN that his office had sought death sentences in some of the affected cases.

Hochman, identified by CNN as a prosecutor, said commuting sentences is within the governor's power, but that abolishing the death penalty belongs to voters. According to CNN, voters have rejected two ballot measures on the question.

Questions About How It Takes Effect

It is not yet clear when, or how, the commutations become final. Reporting conflicts on this point. OAN reported that Newsom signed a mass commutation order. CNN reported that the commutations are not automatic. Wikipedia says the commutation requires state Supreme Court approval. We have not confirmed which account is correct, and no implementation date has been reported.

The next things to watch are whether state Supreme Court approval is needed, whether any legal challenge emerges (none turned up in the sources reviewed), and whether law-enforcement leaders and prosecutors press their objections further. The governor's order and letter should settle some of these questions once they are available.