Gov. Gavin Newsom offers clemency to 5 people convicted of crimes in and around Bay Area
Gov. Gavin Newsom's office on Wednesday announced that he has granted clemency to five people who committed their crimes in counties in the greater Bay Area.
The state Constitution allows for the governor to extend executive clemency in the form of a pardon, commutation or reprieve. According to Newsom's office, the governor bases his decisions on the grantee's self-development and accountability after conviction.
Newsom granted pardons to two people who committed their crimes in Alameda County.
Sikwayi Dawson was convicted in 1994 and sentenced to three years' probation and six days in jail for possessing cocaine base, also known as crack cocaine, while being armed.
Punishment for possession of crack in the 1990s was much more severe than that of powdered cocaine. This was rectified in 2010 through the federal Fair Sentencing Act.
Newsom's office recognized that Dawson received a certificate of rehabilitation out of San Joaquin County and said that was "evidence that she has been living an upright life."
Gabriel Freeland, who now lives in Arizona, was convicted in Alameda County in 1992 for force or assault with a deadly weapon. He was sentenced to three years' probation and 90 days in jail.
According to Newsom's office, Freeland used a wooden stick during a group fight. In 1996, Freeland was again convicted of a crime, this time robbery, for which he spent a year in jail and three years on probation.
Newsom said that the act of clemency for both Dawson and Freeland "does not minimize or forgive (their) conduct or the harm it caused," but that it does recognize the work they have done since to transform themselves.
Andy Silvestre, who now lives in Arizona, was convicted in Monterey County in 1990 for possession or purchase of cocaine base for sale. He was given 120 days in jail and three years' probation.
"By the laws of this state it is proper that I, as Governor of the State of California, give testimony that, by completion of his sentence and good conduct in the community, Mr. Silvestre merits this pardon," wrote Newsom.
In Sonoma County, Damian Clapton was sentenced in 2009 to five years in state prison for possession of a controlled substance and transporting a controlled substance for sale.
"He has provided evidence that he is living an upright life and has demonstrated his fitness for restoration of civic rights and responsibilities," said Newsom's official statement about his pardon.
Finally, William Velasco was convicted in San Mateo County in 1992 for possession of a controlled substance for sale and transport of a controlled substance for sale.
In 2017, a Solano County Superior Court judge granted Velasco a certificate of rehabilitation and recommended he be granted a pardon, which Newsom obliged.
A total of 19 people in the state were given clemency recently by the governor after petitioning for it.
Receiving a governor's pardon can restore a person's right to vote or run for office, allows someone to sit on a jury, and it can allow them to have a better shot at getting a professional license from a state board, among other things.