Newsom commutes death sentence of man convicted of Ashley Ellerin’s murder

California Governor Gavin Newsom has commuted the death sentence of Michael Gargiulo, who was convicted of murdering Ashley Ellerin, as part of a mass commutation covering every prisoner on the state’s death row. The decision has angered Ellerin’s parents, who say the sentence had given them some comfort and that commuting it feels like a rejection of their family’s loss.

Ellerin, 22, was stabbed 47 times in her Hollywood Hills home in 2001 as she prepared for a date with actor Ashton Kutcher. Gargiulo was later linked by DNA to her murder and two other killings; prosecutors also said a fourth woman survived an attempted attack. Newsom’s action affects 548 people, changing their sentences to life in prison without parole, and is described in the article as the largest mass commutation of death sentences in US history.