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Schwarzenegger Commutes Manslaughter Sentence of Lawmaker's Son

So what do you think of this?

Correction of justice or political favors repaid?

Quote:

Schwarzenegger criticized after commuting Nunez sentence | Reuters

He noted in his commutation order that co-defendant Ryan Jett, who pleaded guilty to the same charges as Esteban Nunez, had inflicted the fatal stab wound to Santos, and had other felony convictions.

Esteban Nunez, who was 19 at the time of the fight and lacked a prior criminal record, later admitted to stabbing another victim in the stomach, according to the governor's statement. That person survived.

Quote:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/04/us...on.html?src=mv

Esteban Nuñez, the son of the former speaker, Fabian Nuñez, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter after a drunken fight near San Diego State University led to the stabbing death of Luis Santos. Mr. Nuñez, now 21, was sentenced to 16 years in state prison, but Mr. Schwarzenegger reduced the sentence to seven years.

In a statement released Sunday — his last night in office — Mr. Schwarzenegger noted that although Mr. Nuñez had no prior criminal record and was not the one to deliver the fatal blow, he had received the same sentence as Ryan Jett, a fellow defendant who already had two convictions and killed Mr. Santos with a stab to the chest.

“I believe Nuñez’s sentence is excessive,” the statement said. “He was not the actual killer.”

How many urban America kids have gotten their sentences reduced politically?

Take a hike Arnold ... the country does not need you ....

Nunez and son leaving court ...
http://a57.foxnews.com/static/manage...97/224/SCH.jpg

Re: Schwarzenegger Commutes Manslaughter Sentence of Lawmaker's Son

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Quote:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lano...nunez-son.html

The argument, Sevilla said, was based on the fact that Esteban Nuñez and Ryan Jett had both pleaded guilty to manslaughter and assault with a deadly weapon although Nuñez had no criminal record and no evidence showed that he had stabbed Santos, whereas Jett had two previous convictions, was on felony probation and was shown to have fatally stabbed Santos.

Sevilla said he also mentioned in the paperwork that the San Diego County Superior Court judge had suggested he would give Nuñez a lesser sentence (probably seven to 11 years) than Jett. When both were instead sentenced to 16 years, the maximum, Nuñez’s father had an angry outburst in court.

Like Patton, Sevilla said he believes Esteban Nuñez, who was 19 at the time of the incident, received the same sentence as Jett because the judge did not want to be criticized as allegedly giving preference to the son of a politically powerful father.

“People think he benefited from his father’s status,” Sevilla said. “I think he suffered from it. The criminal justice system, and the media in its coverage, bent over backward to make sure he got no benefit. This became the ‘Nuñez case.’ I think the system became zealous in its effort not to show favoritism.”

Any other defendant in similar circumstances as Esteban Nuñez, Sevilla said, would have gotten a sentencing like that imposed by the governor, not the maximum sentence handed out by the judge.

Re: Schwarzenegger Commutes Manslaughter Sentence of Lawmaker's Son

The standard for a conflict of interest is an "appearance of impropriety", that definition is operationalized succinctly in this situation..

Re: Schwarzenegger Commutes Manslaughter Sentence of Lawmaker's Son

It sounds to me like Arnie did exactly what the founders intended when they gave him this authority.

Re: Schwarzenegger Commutes Manslaughter Sentence of Lawmaker's Son

Hasta la vista baby!