SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom commuted the death sentences of all 548 people on California’s death row to life without the possibility of parole. The decision has drawn criticism from some law enforcement and praise from global leaders, murder victims’ family members and civil rights advocates.
Kerry Kennedy, daughter of former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and president of the Robert & Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center, expressed support for the governor’s action. Her father was murdered in California.
“My father was murdered in California and when his assailant was sentenced to death, his brother, Senator Edward Kennedy, on behalf of our family, asked that the murderer’s life be spared. He was right then, and Gavin Newsom is right today,” Kennedy said…