Arnie cuts jail term of ex-speaker's son
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Your support makes all the difference.Srnold Schwarzenegger has commuted the manslaughter sentence of the son of California's former Assembly speaker, drawing criticism from the victim's family.
The outgoing Governor also granted clemency to a woman who killed her former pimp in a motel room when she was 16. The orders came just hours before Mr Schwarzenegger left office yesterday.
Mr Schwarzenegger said he believed the 16-year prison sentence that Esteban Nunez received was "excessive" as he reduced the term to seven years. Nunez is the son of Fabian Nunez, a Democrat who served as Assembly speaker – one of the most powerful political leadership positions in the state – from 2004 to 2008.
Esteban Nunez pleaded guilty in May to voluntary manslaughter and assault with a deadly weapon for his role in a fight that killed a 22-year-old man near San Diego State University in 2008.
The Governor's commutation documents point out that Nunez received the same sentence as co-defendant Ryan Jett, despite the court acknowledging that Jett was the person who actually stabbed and killed Luis Dos Santos, and that Jett had a significant criminal record while Nunez had none.
But Fred Santos, the victim's father, criticised the commutation and said Nunez got special treatment because his father is close to the Governor.
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