On Thursday, November 12, the office of Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer held a press conference in Santa Ana, where numerous family members of victims publicly condemned Governor Gavin Newsom’s decision to commute the sentences of all 548 death row inmates in California to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Among these inmates, 48 had committed their crimes in Orange County. Nearly 300 people attended the event, which included prosecutors, law enforcement officials, community organizations, and the families of victims.
Just one month before Governor Newsom announced his commutation plan, the California Parole Board passed new regulations that would allow most prisoners sentenced to life without parole to apply for a parole hearing after serving 25 years. If they received a recommendation for release, it could pave the way for their potential freedom.
The case of Daniel Wozniak, a theater actor who murdered his neighbor and 26-year-old veteran Samuel Herr on May 21, 2010, remains particularly harrowing. Herr had been in possession of $62,000 in benefits, while Wozniak was unemployed and in debt, planning an extravagant wedding and honeymoon.
Wozniak dismembered Herr’s body, burying his head and limbs in El Dorado Nature Center Park in Long Beach, while hiding the torso in the attic of a theater. Later, he used Herr’s cellphone to lure 23-year-old college student Juri Kibuishi to his apartment, where he shot her and staged the scene to appear as though she had been sexually assaulted. Remarkably, he performed that night.
Steve Herr, Samuel’s father, recounted that they found his son’s head on what would have been his 27th birthday; the rest of the body had already decayed or been scavenged by animals. Wozniak was arrested before his wedding. Over the following six and a half years, the Herr family attended 203 hearings, ultimately resulting in a jury sentencing Wozniak to death for two counts of first-degree murder, and he was relocated to San Quentin’s death row, awaiting execution.
Steve Herr initially believed that the nightmare had ended. However, Governor Newsom, upon taking office in 2018, suspended the death penalty and dismantled the death row section, transferring inmates to lower-security prisons with better facilities. This change allowed Wozniak more access to computers, educational programs, and television, significantly increasing his freedom to socialize.
“I feel devastated and outraged that Newsom has overturned the decisions of thousands of jurors and judges, showing sympathy to a murderer. This goes against the will of the people of California, considering that voters supported the death penalty in 2017,” Steve Herr stated vehemently.
On October 15, 2008, Marine Sergeant and helicopter mechanic Jan Pietrzak and his 26-year-old wife Quiana Jenkins-Pietrzak were brutally murdered after being assaulted by four fellow Marines stationed at Camp Pendleton. The perpetrators attempted to destroy evidence by setting fire to the crime scene.
Originally from Poland, Pietrzak had only been married to his African American wife for 67 days before their horrific deaths, which left racial slurs scrawled on the walls. Three of the Marines involved were sentenced to death, while one received life imprisonment without parole.
Faye Jenkins, Quiana’s mother, expressed the lingering pain that her family has endured over 18 years, which included six years of suffering, three trials, and four juries, without missing any hearings. “District Attorney Daniel Dillamond’s team has been incredibly diligent, but what right does Newsom have to dismiss these heinous crimes at a whim?” she articulated. “Our children lie in graves while he can reunite with his family after leaving office. He never consulted us. Today, we will continue to fight.”
District Attorney Todd Spitzer emphasized the importance of victim voices in the conversation. He pointed out that the governor might feel free to act without consequences, stating, “The essence of politics is power. Who wields that power determines whether policies are just, appropriate, and balanced.”
Spitzer’s office is preparing to file a lawsuit against Governor Newsom next week. He believes that the commutation plan is a political maneuver aimed at swaying public opinion ahead of the 2028 presidential election, putting judges in a difficult position regarding the verdicts of these cases.
Debra Hernandez, the head of the Orange County chapter of the Parents of Murdered Children organization, remarked, “When criminals are given a second chance at life, their victims’ families never receive that opportunity. Forgiveness should not only be extended to offenders. While a reduction in sentences alters the terms of punishment, it cannot erase the acts of murder or restore lives. Families carry a lifetime of grief and will never see ‘parole.’”
Perla Mendoza, representing the Crime Survivors Resource Center, expressed the gradual evolution of the justice system, noting that every decision and policy is silently shaping outcomes. She emphasized that behind every murderer, there are lives lost and families fundamentally altered.
John Radis, President of the Orange County Sheriff and Deputy Sheriff’s Association, stated that law enforcement officers are tasked with serving the public rather than engaging in politics. However, in the face of decisions that impact victim families, silence is not an option; thus, victim voices must be heard—it is a matter of responsibility, not political stance.
John Katrisky, an executive committee member of the California Police Officers Association, highlighted that among the 548 death row inmates, 29 had murdered law enforcement personnel. He questioned who exactly this “executive leniency” is serving, pointing out the protected status of those who killed officers like Brad Richard, ambushed highway patrolman Don Bird, and executed Los Angeles County officer Zane York from behind.
Katrisky voiced that the families of victims are further traumatized by these actions, and law enforcement feels betrayed. He stressed that justice and the voices of victims still matter. The law enforcement community will stand alongside victims’ families to fulfill their pledge to serve and protect the community, particularly during tumultuous times.