Jerry Brown (D) has issued more commutations since he returned to office than any California governor since the 1940s. All are among the 20 killers serving life sentences that were recently commuted by California Gov. Brown has issued 82 in the past seven years, far more than any California governor since at least the 1940s. Then in 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that overcrowding in the state’s prison system amounted to cruel and unusual punishment. Some 5,000 prisoners today are serving life sentences without parole in California.

Source: Washington Post September 10, 2018 00:22 UTC