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With only a few hours left as California's Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger reduced the prison sentence of Esteban Nuñez, son of former Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, from 16 years to 7 years. according to the LA Times.
Esteban Nuñez received a 16 year prison sentence in May when he plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon in the stabbing death of college student Luis Santos in San Diego. Schwarzenegger defended his decision by saying "I do not discount the gravity of the offense, but given Nuñez's limited role in Santos' death, and considering that Nuñez had no criminal record prior to this offense, I believe Nuñez's sentence is excessive."
This decision has infuriated the victim's family and has raised many questions about the true motive behind the last minute sentence-reduction. The Sacramento Bee notes that Former Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez not only worked closely with Schwarzenegger to push landmark greenhouse gas reduction laws, but he is "now a political consultant in a firm with Schwarzenegger's former communications director, Adam Mendelsohn."
