SAN DIEGO (CNS) - The father of slain Mesa College student Luis Santos told a Los Angeles radio station Wednesday that he is strongly considering suing former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the state.
Fred Santos told KNX 1070 radio that he believes it was his family's constitutional right as victims to be notified prior to Schwarzenegger commuting the prison sentence from 16 to seven years of Esteban Nunez - one of the people who pleaded guilty in the death of Santos' son, Luis Santos.
Listen to the KNX 1070 radio interview
Instead, Schwarzenegger commuted the sentence of 22-year-old Esteban Nunez on Dec. 31 - his last day in office - then sent the Santos family a letter that arrived last Saturday.
Nunez, son of former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, resulting from a knife fight near San Diego State in 2008 in which Luis Santos was killed.
Co-defendant Ryan Jett, 25, also pleaded guilty and was sentenced to the same maximum 16 years in state prison. Nunez asked that his sentence be shortened on the grounds that he received the same penalty as Jett, although Jett was the one who stabbed Santos and Nunez had not actually killed anyone.
"Essentially the context of the letter is to give some excuses on (Schwarzenegger's) actions with an apology," Santos said.
He went on to say he believed the apology came only due to the media attention that the case received.
"It's 100 percent politics and nothing but, and he's just trying to pass it off as something other than politics, and I think everyone else in California can see (it)," Santos said.
Both the San Diego district and city attorneys also recently spoke out against Schwarzenegger's decision, accusing him of undermining justice.
"Esteban Nunez - the son of former Assembly speaker Fabian Nunez - is a criminal who was sentenced by an experienced and well-respected Superior Court judge," City Attorney Jan Goldsmith said. "Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger reduced the sentenced by over half to help his political crony's son. In doing so, he undermined the judicial system and has jeopardized public safety."
Fabian Nunez, a Democrat, served as Assembly speaker from 2004 to 2008. He also is a business partner of the former governor's top political adviser at the consulting firm Mercury Public Affairs, according to media reports.
