Dozens of child killers spared by Gov. Gavin Newsoms mass commutation

Gov.Gavin Newsom’s stunning decision this week to commute the death sentences of all 548 condemned inmates in California could slash the total number of death row inmates across the country by more than a quarter — and also spare dozens of people convicted of heinous crimes against children.A rough analysis of the state’s current condemned inmate list reveals dozens of criminals whose names have been cited in the murders of minors.

The state doesn’t publish a breakdown of what type of murders each death row inmate commits — but according to one estimate conducted in the 2010s, about 173 to 220 of them were convicted in cases involving the murder of children.The biggest news, opinion and culture shaping California right now.

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Never miss a story It’s not a guarantee that all will receive commutations; the California Supreme Court also has to weigh in for those with multiple felonies.But the decision to spare some of California’s most dangerous criminals has left members of law enforcement and many surviving family members of victims horrified.One of the perps who could be spared is David Westerfield, now 74, who broke into a neighbor’s house at night in 2002, snatched 7-year-old Danielle van Dam, sexually abused her, killed her, then dumped her body on the side of a road, according to prosecutors.She was missing for 24 days before her body was found decomposed.

Westerfield was also accused of possessing child sexual abuse material found on his computer.One of the most notorious cases was of Richard Allen Davis, who was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death in 1996 for the 1993 kidnapping and murder of 12-year-old Polly Klaas from her home in Petaluma.His crime was a primary catalyst for the passage of California’s “Three Strikes” law.Davis was on parole when kidnapped Polly Klaa...