Thursday, October 15 | Volume 40 No. 31

Westsidestory Newspaper

As Gov. Newsom’s Term Nears End, Advocacy Groups Urge Him to Commute Life Sentences

By Antonio Ray Harvey | California Black Media

The members of the Drop Life Without Parole (Drop LWOP), a grassroots coalition and sentencing reform group, along with other advocacy organizations, are asking Gov. Gavin Newsom to commute the sentences of more than 5,000 individuals serving life sentences in California before he leaves office. Drop LWOP, along with the California Coalition for Women Prisoners, the Anti-Violence, Safety and Accountability Project (ASAP), human rights advocates and family members of incarcerated people, called for the release of California prisoners serving life without parole (LWOP) during a Sept. 29 news conference and rally on the west steps of the State Capitol. Amber Rose Howard, the executive director of Californians United for a Responsible Budget (CURB), said those serving LWOP already play a vital role in the broader push for commutations. “We are here today because we care so much about ending life without parole sentencing,” Howard said. “So many people serving LWOP are the reason why that’s been able to happen. The programs, services, and all of the things that happen inside (of prisons) that rehabilitate (the incarcerated) started many years ago by folks with LWOP. They have proven that we can change ourselves. They paved the way to get ourselves free.” CURB is a Black-led statewide coalition of more than 100 grassroots organizations dedicated to shrinking the state's prison system and redirecting public spending from corrections to community care.

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