Governor Schwarzenegger’s commutation of the sentence of Esteban Nunez is truly outrageous. The sentence that Nunez received was already quite mild in light of the offense. For Arnold to intervene and help the son of one of his political friends is profoundly corrupt, not to mention the contempt shown for the district attorney’s office, the judge and, worst of all, the family of the murdered boy.
Part of what makes this so shocking is the transformation of Schwarzenegger from a critic of California’s special interest politics into a sleazy politician at home with Sacramento’s corrupt culture. The leniency for a killer whose father is a well-connected liberal ally is the culmination of that transformation.
It’s as if we are watching a modern-day Animal Farm played out in front of us. Just as in Orwell’s novel, when we look through the window at Arnold carousing with the liberal grandees in Sacramento, we can’t tell them apart.
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Readers may remember some criticism on these pages for a couple of blog posts about Nunez’ son’s arrest, with the charge that bloggers were “politicizing” what was a crime story, simply because it was about the Speaker’s kin. Yet, Arnold commuting the sentence isn’t political, apparently. The Governor would provide leniency to anyone in this situation. Uh huh, right.
From the Twitter feed…
@sandiegorostra says: Leniency For A Killer: The transformation of Arnold from a critic of special interest politics into a sleazy politician http://bit.ly/gGisys
The San Diego Judge who imposed the original 16-year
sentence is Hon. Robert O’Neill. Acquaintances in the
legal world say he is qualified and well-respected.
The Governator substituted his judgment for that of a
career jurist, by reducing the prison term to 7 years.
Meanwhile a San Diego State student lost his life
in the attack.
See Jan Goldsmith’s statement…
http://sdrostra.com/?p=11304
Some convicted man-slaughter offenders are more equal than others…