By MES Dispatch Staff
The Briefing
- A review compiled by retired Riverside, Ill., Police Chief Tom Weitzel identified at least 29 inmates on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s clemency list whose cases were linked to the murders of 32 law enforcement officers, including one correctional sergeant.
- Newsom announced Nov. 5 that he intends to commute all 548 death sentences in California to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
- The cases span more than four decades, with death judgments dating from 1981 to 2025.
- Among them are the 2016 murders of Palm Springs Officers Jose Vega and Lesley Zerebny and the 2019 murder of Sacramento Police Officer Tara O’Sullivan.
- The governor’s office says inmates would remain incarcerated without parole eligibility and that registered victims will be notified when the commutations take effect.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Inmates convicted in the killings of law enforcement officers are among those whose death sentences would be changed to life without parole under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed commutations, according to a review reported by Police1.
The outgoing governor announced Nov. 5 that he intends to commute all 548 death sentences in the state. California has not carried out an execution since Jan. 17, 2006, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and Newsom imposed a moratorium on executions in March 2019. The governor’s office says the commutations will take effect after required legal steps are completed.
Weitzel’s review, based on the governor’s roster, court records and published reports, identified at least 29 inmates whose cases were linked to the killings of 32 law enforcement officers. He described it as an independent index that may not capture every qualifying case.
The cases include John Hernandez Felix, sentenced to death in 2019 for the Oct. 8, 2016, murders of Palm Springs Officers Jose “Gil” Vega and Lesley Zerebny, who were shot while responding to a domestic disturbance; he was also convicted of attempting to murder six other officers. Luis Bracamontes was convicted of murdering Sacramento County Deputy Danny Oliver and Placer County Detective Michael Davis Jr. in 2014. The most recent death judgment on the list was imposed June 27, 2025, on Adel Sambrano Ramos for the 2019 murder of Sacramento Police Officer Tara O’Sullivan, 26.
The review also includes the 1985 killing of San Quentin Correctional Sgt. Howell Dean Burchfield. Jarvis Jay Masters was convicted of murder and conspiracy in that case, though a California Supreme Court opinion identifies another inmate as the person who inflicted the fatal wound, and Masters maintains his innocence. Other victims named include U.S. Secret Service Special Agent Julie Cross, killed in Los Angeles in 1980, and off-duty Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Maria Rosa, killed in Long Beach in 2006.
According to the governor’s roster, 21 of the 29 inmates have a separate felony conviction, so their commutations would require a recommendation from at least four California Supreme Court justices before the governor can complete them, per the state’s Habeas Corpus Resource Center.
Newsom said when he announced the plan that “state-sanctioned killing is incompatible with California’s values,” and acknowledged it could bring painful memories for victims’ families. The governor’s office says victims registered with the corrections department’s victim services office will be notified when the commutations take effect.