Clemency Advocacy Guide

INTRODUCTION This guide is a resource for individuals who have applied for clemency from the Governor of California and ask the question, “What do I do now?” Here, you will find information and guidance on building an advocacy campaign in support of your clemency application. This resource will cover how to request support letters from […]

California Resentencing Guide

For Life Without Parole Sentences (LWOP) September 2025 GET RESENTENCING GUIDE HERE Check out our list of relevant documents and templates here. About the Authors Drop LWOP Coalition The Drop LWOP Coalition works to end Life Without Parole sentencing in California. Our goal is to afford relief to those currently serving this sentence, no matter the […]

California AG Opposes 50-Years-to-Life Sentences for Youth Offenders

By Graciela Tiu August 1, 2025 SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California attorney general has reversed his previous position and now opposes sentencing violent youth offenders to terms longer than 50 years to life, according to an article from The San Francisco Chronicle. This change in opinion from Attorney General Rob Bonta comes as a case reaches the […]

A Living Chance: Storytelling to End Life Without Parole

Video Podcast This is a multimedia storytelling project created in collaboration with people serving Life Without Parole (LWOP) in California’s state prisons for women. People serving LWOP describe themselves as the “lost population” of the prisoner rights movement. Their sentences are so severe, they seem impossible to reverse. Through visual storytelling, A Living Chance will humanize […]

Report of Significant events

Based on the 2024 Board of Parole Hearings Report of Significant Events, here are some of the most notable statistics: Parole hearing volume decreased, with 7,999 scheduled hearings (down 3.42% from 2023) and a significant drop in parole grants to 1,150 (down 20% from 2023). The overall parole grant rate decreased to 31% of hearings […]

People v. Emanuel

Justia Opinion Summary Louis Sanchez Emanuel was convicted of first-degree murder under the felony-murder rule after his co-defendant, Jacob Craig Whitley, fatally shot John Cody Sonenberg during a robbery. Emanuel and Whitley had planned to rob Sonenberg of marijuana. During the robbery, Whitley unexpectedly pulled out a gun and shot Sonenberg, who resisted giving up […]

We Celebrate Newsom’s Commutations,

Call for More Governor Newsom granted 18 commutations and 37 pardons last Friday, giving these individuals the opportunity to be reviewed by the California Parole Board. The Drop LWOP coalition welcomes Governor Newsom’s exercise of executive clemency, an important gubernatorial power that he has been hesitant to utilize. “While we applaud Newsom’s action, we urge him to […]

DROP LWOP STATEMENT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE RECENT POSITIVE RULING IN WASHINGTON SUPREME COURT ON THE CASE OF KIMONTI CARTER AND SHAWN REITE.

As the struggle to challenge the inhumanity and unconstitutionality of Life Without Parole (LWOP) continues in the courts, we are inspired to see the Washington Supreme Court affirm last week that a life sentence with no potential release date is unconstitutional when applied to 18-to 20-year-olds because it denies discretion to consider the mitigating qualities […]

Two Individuals Credited with ‘Rehabilitating and Changing’ Get Second Chance after Washington State Supreme Court’s 2024 Decision

Davis Vanguard By: Vy Tran Date: May 27, 2024 OLYMPIA, WA — The Washington State Supreme Court ruled 6-3 last week Kimonti Carter and Shawn Reite will remain free after they were released in 2022 from their life-without-parole (LWOP) sentences. The court in 2022 “did not err” when it ruled the sentences were “unconstitutional for their age […]

Drop LWOP Coalition Celebrates Newsom’s Commutations, Calls for More

April 2, 2024 Media Contact: Courtney Hanson courtney@womenprisoners.org, (916) 316-0625 Governor Newsom granted 18 commutations and 37 pardons last Friday, giving these individuals the opportunity to be reviewed by the California Parole Board. The Drop LWOP coalition welcomes Governor Newsom’s exercise of executive clemency, an important gubernatorial power that he has been hesitant to utilize. “While we […]