Gov. Gavin Newsom has granted clemency to all of California's death row prisoners, converting their sentences to life without the possibility of parole. But his decision is being met with both praise and condemnation even among members of the same family.
Polly Klaas was a 12-year-old from Petaluma who was kidnapped and murdered in 1993. Her father Marc Klass, during a CNN interview, condemned Newsom's action to commute the sentence of nearly 550 prisoners, including the man who took his daughter's life.
"What he's doing is he's putting these people closer and closer and closer to being back on the street," he said. "They said he would be executed he wasn't. They say he's got life without the possibility of parole. How long until they change their mind again?"
However, Polly's sister Annie Nichol is calling on the California State Supreme Court to approve Newsom's commutations.
"Nothing will undo what happened to Polly," she said. "Nothing can give her back to us. But California can choose not to compound violence in her name or in the names of thousands of other victims."
Newsom has asked the court to rule on the commutations before he leaves office.
Gov.-elect Xavier Becerra says he will maintain moratorium on the death penalty first put in place by Newsom in 2019.