Governor Gavin Newsom today requested clemency recommendations from the Supreme Court for Kristopher Blehm, Jose Ledesma, Fanon Figgers. The state constitution requires the court’s permission because each of the three was convicted of multiple felonies.
The clemencies that the Governor has in mind are commutations of sentences for some very serious felonies. Blehm is serving 25-years-to-life for first degree murder, shooting at an occupied motor vehicle, possession of ammunition by a felon, and accessory to a felony. Ledesma’s sentence is 33-years-to-life for attempted murder with a firearm enhancement and assault with a firearm on a person. Figgers was sentenced to 210-years-to-life for multiple counts of robbery and false imprisonment by violence as a third strike with firearm enhancements.
As usual, the clemency files — other than the cover letters from the Governor’s deputy legal affairs secretary — were lodged under seal without a motion. For some unexplained reason, the docket says the Governor lodged Blehm’s and Figgers’s files “conditionally” under seal, but lodged Ledesma’s file simply “under seal.”
For those keeping score at home, the court now has pending eight clemency recommendation requests (five for pardons and today’s three for commutations), has signed off on five other requests (three pardons and two commutations), and hasn’t blocked any clemencies during Governor Newsom’s 10-month-old term.