Commutation of Former Assembly Speaker's Son Still Haunts Victim's Family

Speaking out in support of proposed state legislation that would notify victims and families when a sentence commutation is being considered, the parents of Luis Santos called former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s decision to reduce the sentence of a man who pleaded guilty in the killing of their son “morally wrong and scandalous” during a press conference Thursday at the District Attorney’s Office in downtown San Diego.

“Our son was disrespected from his grave with this secretive decision, which was made to protect and reward the criminal son of a political crony,” Kathy Santos said.

Esteban Nunez, son of former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and assault with a deadly weapon in connection with the brutal brawl in which Santos, 22, was stabbed to death Oct. 4, 2008, near San Diego State University.

On his last day in office, the former governor commuted Nunez’s sentence from 16 years to seven years in prison. The case was on appeal. Neither prosecutors nor Santos’s parents, Fred and Kathy, were notified of the decision. The Santos family first learned of the decision when a reporter called and left them a voice mail message.

A bill introduced Wednesday by assemblymen Marty Block (D-Lemon Grove) and Nathan Fletcher (R-San Diego) would require timely notification of crime victims and district attorneys when an application is made to shorten a prison sentence.

“The governor’s decision to commute that sentence, and the way it was handled, was nothing short of shocking,” San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis said. “It re-victimizes Luis’s family, his parents, it blindsided the District Attorney’s Office and it undermined the criminal justice system.”

The jointly authored legislation is about righting a wrong, Block said, who called the last-minute decision without notification or input from families or the district attorney “appalling.”

The proposed legislation seeks to change state law, not the state constitution.

“It doesn’t change the governor’s prerogative to offer clemency when appropriate,” Block said. “What it does do is require that an application for clemency notify the district attorney’s office at least 30 days in advance of the governor’s acting.”

Fletcher said the proposed law is about protecting victims and their families, and that authoring the bill was “simply the right thing to do.”

“When decisions are made that affect victims, it is unacceptable when they or their families find out by reading it in the news,” Fletcher said.

Dumanis said her office starting working on proposed changes to the law soon after the Nunez commutation and worked closely with the lawmakers to draft and refine the language of the bill. The Santos family backs the change. They have also filed a lawsuit in Sacramento alleging that the former governor violated their constitutional rights when he commuted Nunez’s 16-year sentence. Dumanis says her office may also file a suit in the matter.

“We want transparency, we want notification,” Fred Santos said. “Give everybody a chance to comment before a decision is made rather than doing this in a sneaky way like this was done.”

City News Service contributed to this story.