SACROMENTO – Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday provided tolerance to 25 felonies, including Cambodian migrants facing deportation, in a series of pardons and conflicts issued before the Easter holidays.
The governor was a critic of the Trump administration’s immigration policy, which included denouncement of Venezuelan immigrants being deported to El Salvador’s biggest security prison last month without justification. Newsom’s pardon of Sissou Bin of Long Beach follows the efforts of the governor and his predecessor, Jerry Brown, using their generous force to support migrants who are targeted for deportation.
Bin, a former member of Crips with an Attitude Gang, was sentenced to 40 years in 2008 after being convicted in Stanislaus County for shooting at the home of rival gang members during a barbecue and injuring bystanders.
Bin became a pastor during his 15 years in prison. His good behavior and work to rehabilitate himself and assist other felons was sentenced to prison.
“While in prison, Mr. Bin was never disciplined for misconduct,” Newsom wrote in a pardon order. “He has worked in extensive self-help programming, maintaining a history of excellent work and has received many acclaim from correctional staff for his active transformation.”
According to the American Civil Liberties Union, Bin was released to immigration and customs enforcement custody during the Covid-19 pandemic and was taken into custody at the Mesa Verde Processing Center. Overcrowding and dangerous circumstances led to him being released from custody in 2020.
According to the Signal Tribune, in his recent immigration appointment he was given 60 days to return to Cambodia, where he left 60 days as a toddler.
Bin and his supporters sent a letter to Newsom to demand pardon in hopes of allowing him to remain in California.
A pardon restores several rights to former felonies, including their ability to serve ju-seekers and their ability to seek professional licenses. In limited cases, pardons can restore gun rights for those convicted of crimes without dangerous weapons, or release the need for sex offenders to register.
According to the governor’s office, the governor considers efforts to lenient applicants to improve themselves, actions since crime, proper justice, and efforts to award pardons and conflicts to the victims of crime and the community. Since taking office in 2019, Newsom has allowed 224 pardons, 150 commutes and 42 deductions.
The governor on Friday also offered the posthumous pardon to the sergeant. Richard Allen Penley, a US Army veteran and Medal of Honor recipient. Newsom announced it is working on a pardon for Vietnam War veterans on Veterans Day in November.
Penry, a native of Petaluma, received the country’s highest honor from President Nixon in 1971 for “extraordinary heroism in the risk of his own life.”
Penley was arrested two years after the Medal of Honor for selling $950 in cocaine to a secret agent, according to a 1973 New York Times article.
He died in 1994 at the age of 45 from cancer related to Agent Orange exposure, and local supporters have worked for many years to contextualize his crimes with his service-related mental illness.
Newsom was approved by the California Supreme Court forgiving Penley. This is a requirement if someone is convicted of multiple felony.
Bin and Penley are among 16 felons who have been pardoned and nine people who have been disputed.
Among those who received commutations was Refugio Castillo. In 1986, he and his accomplice lured two North Hollywood men who owed them money and held them for ransom. The hostages were beaten while being taken prisoner and later released.
Peruvian citizen Castillo and his accomplices were considered international bandits on several continents, and wanted on several, according to reports in the Los Angeles Times that lasted more than five months. Vice-chairman at the trial. Atty. Kenneth A. Raveman said the temptants mistakenly believe the victim is a wealthy drug dealer.
Four were convicted of two counts, each of the lures and robbers, and one counted each of the conspiracies to lure them for ransom. The fifth defendant was acquitted and another suspect was fatally shot and killed by police. Castillo and three others were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Castillo is now 78 years old and has been jailed for 38 years. Newsom said Castillo has been surrendering to self-improvement while in prison, and appears to be a good prospect of re-entry into the community. Commuting will allow the state parole board to determine whether Castillo is suitable for release.
Times staff writer Phil Willne contributed to this report.
Source link
