California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is pandering to progressives by commuting every single death sentence in the Golden State, leading one mother of a slain police officer to despair.
Newsom on Thursday commuted the sentences of all 548 prisoners who were slated for capital punishment, as noted by Fox News.
All 548 people will instead serve sentences of life without parole.
The most recent execution in California occurred in 2006. In 2019, Newsom imposed a moratorium on executions.
Newsom’s action comes amid renewed debate on the death penalty that accompanied September’s botched execution of Christa Pike in Tennessee — and two days after Democrats dominated the midterm elections.
Gavin Newsom has commuted the sentence of serial killer Randy Kraft, who kidnapped and killed at least 16 men, mutilating and torturing some of his victims while they were still alive.
He was arrested after he was pulled over for erratic driving with a dead body in his car. Investigators discovered hundreds of photographs of his victims, tying him to unsolved cold cases. He used a coded scoring system to rate his kills.
— Daniel Friedman (@DanFriedman81) November 5, 2026
Phyllis Loya, whose son was a Pittsburg, California, police officer until he was gunned down on April 23, 2005, said the potential 2028 presidential candidate is positioning himself for a national campaign at the expense of the families of the victims, according to the New York Post.
Officer Larry Lasater was shot to death while trying to arrest two robbery suspects. He was murdered by Alexander Rashad Hamilton, who hid behind a bush as he gunned down Lasater.
She said Newsom was a “political animal” for grabbing a headline as Democrats move toward the 2028 elections flush with confidence after humbling Republicans on Tuesday.
Gavin Newsom just told the victim of every criminal on death row, their justice doesn’t matter.
Unbelievably disgusting. Stop coddling criminals and start supporting victims.
— Rep. Nancy Mace (@RepNancyMace) November 5, 2026
“He wants to be president. So I was thinking he was testing the water, and the election made him go for it today. That was the only thing that held off his decision,” Loya said.
“Does Gavin Newsom ever talk about the victims? No, he doesn’t,” she said.
“To get retraumatized, except see, this time, it’s not the killer retraumatizing us. I’m being retraumatized by laws passed by the legislatures or by the governor. That’s retraumatizing,” she said.
“That’s who’s retraumatizing me, not the killer. The putting the knife in and twisting it, that’s the legislature and the governor,” she said.
I have been waiting 24 years for my neighbor David Westerfield to be executed for the kidnapping and murder of my 7-year-old neighbor, Danielle van Dam. And now thanks to @GavinNewsom, it looks like it will never happen.
I was 13 when he abducted her from her bedroom in the middle of the night in 2002. I would never equate what I experienced with what her family suffered, but Danielle’s murder devastated our whole neighborhood, and me personally. I was a sensitive kid and it was a major contributor to my mental health decline in adolescence.
In the 20 days between her disappearance and his arrest, I developed insomnia and spent those nights walking around the house checking the locks on the doors and windows. I followed the trial closely. As we learned the horrific details, I couldn’t stop thinking about what she endured during the 3 days he had her.
Her body was found dumped off the side of a road 25 days after she went missing. It was too decomposed to test for sexual assault, but we all knew that’s why he took her. He was also convicted of possessing child sexual abuse material found on his computer.
There was never any doubt about Westerfield’s guilt. There was an abundance of forensic evidence, including her blood on his clothing and in his motorhome. In 2019, the California Supreme Court unanimously upheld his conviction and death sentence. Shortly afterward, Newsom imposed his moratorium. And now he does THIS.
California voters rejected abolishing the death penalty in both 2012 and 2016, and even voted to expedite executions. All these years, I’ve held on to the hope that someone would eventually take office who respected the will of California voters and would allow these sentences to be carried out.
It’s especially insulting to hear Newsom go on about morality, as if he is morally superior to those of us whose lives were affected by these heinous crimes and who want to see the perpetrators brought to justice. I’m hoping the California Supreme Court can stop Westerfield’s commutation.
— Christina Buttons (@buttonslives) November 5, 2026
Loya said she felt “immense anger” when she heard her son’s killer would never be executed.
“This is the worst day of my life,” she said.
“It’s been very tough. It’s very emotional,” she added.
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Loya recalled that when he ran for office, Newsom said he would abide by the will of Californians on the issue of executions.
“He doesn’t care about the will of the people. He cares about what’s going to be good for Gavin Newsom. And if I sound bitter, I am bitter,” she said.
The other criminal convicted in the incident that led to the death of her son is already serving a life sentence.
She noted that her son was killed only weeks before his son was born.
“The closest my son ever came to holding his son was a sonogram that was buried with him in his lifeless hands,” Loya said.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
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