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California LGBTQ Pardon Initiative Falls Short
by Chuck Sharman
Three years after Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) unveiled a plan to pardon LGBTQ Californians prosecuted for their sexual orientation, the program has exactly one living beneficiary: Henry Pachnowski, 83, whose 1967 lewd conduct conviction was pardoned in 2022.
“While this initiative may appear to …
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More from this issue:
- Despite #MeToo, Celebrity Justice Remains Massively Unjust, by Matthew Clarke
- Georgia Prison Smuggling Ring Busted, Warden and Former Guard Arrested, by Chuck Sharman
- Pennsylvania Jail Hit With Over $1.5 Million in Overages for Guards, Healthcare, by Kevin Bliss
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- $50,000 Settlement to Texas Prisoner for Feces-Covered Cell
- New Jail Healthcare Provider Coming to Albuquerque – Again, by Kevin Bliss
- Third Connecticut Prison Lockdown in Five Months, by Kevin Bliss
- Guantanamo Prison Down to 30 Detainees, by Jordan Arizmendi
- Fifth BOP Staff Conviction and Sixth Arrest in California Prison ‘Rape Club’, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Tennessee DOC Coughs Up Video of Condemned Prisoner Who Severed Own Penis, by Eike Blohm, MD
- California LGBTQ Pardon Initiative Falls Short, by Chuck Sharman
- Florida Returning Canteen Funds for Prisoner Programming, by Harold Hempstead
- Fifth Detainee Dies in 2023 at California’s Santa Rita Jail, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Ohio Makes Sweeping Changes to Criminal Justice
- New York City Stops Reporting Rikers Island Deaths Amid Rampant Guard Misconduct, by Kevin Bliss, Chuck Sharman, Benjamin Tschirhart
- New York Prisoner Is Released After Conviction Is Vacated, Reinstated and Vacated Once More, by Chuck Sharman
- Seventh Circuit: Attorney’s Submission of Illinois Prisoner’s Grievance Exhausts Administrative Remedies, by David Reutter
- $142,500 Settlement After Pennsylvania Jail Guard Allegedly Knocked Out Detainee and Broke Her Jaw, by Matthew Clarke
- L.A. County Watchdog Takes Aim at “Deputy Gangs”, by Douglas Ankney
- Seventh Circuit Revives Illinois Prisoner’s Claim Over Prison Work Injury, by Matthew Clarke
- Newly Released Government Records Reveal Horrible Neglect of Terminally Ill Woman in Federal Prison, by C.J. Ciaramella
- Prisoner Who Reached $11,400 Retaliation Settlement with South Dakota Jail Tries Again with DOC, by Keith Sanders
- Seventh Circuit: Low IQ and Segregation Placement May Render Administrative Remedies Unavailable to Indiana Prisoner, by David Reutter
- More Success for Medication-Assisted Treatment Programs in Prisons and Jails, by Keith Sanders
- Fourth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of North Carolina Prisoner’s ADA Claim for Failure to Show Deliberate Indifference, by Douglas Ankney
- California Appeals Court Affirms Rate Caps and Fee Limitations for Prison Telecoms, by Douglas Ankney
- $120,000 Settlement Reached With Long Island Detainee Assaulted by Jail Guards, by Jacob Barrett
- $500,000 Settlement for Texas Man Wrongly Imprisoned for Child Sex Abuse, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- New York Bail Reform Laws Reduced Recidivism, Contrary to Critics’ Claims, by Chuck Sharman
- $150,000 Verdict for South Carolina Jail Detainee’s Groin Injury During Pat-Down, by Eike Blohm, MD
- Texas Prisons are Fire Traps, by Edward Lyon
- Over $7,600 Awarded to Tennessee Prisoner for Retaliatory Cell Search and Transfer
- FCC Granted Broader Authority to Regulate Prisoner Call Costs, by Chuck Sharman
- Tenth Circuit: Colorado Prisoner’s Injury Requiring Medical Treatment Not De Minimus, by David Reutter
- California Prisoners Embracing Arts, by Kevin Bliss
- $15,001 Verdict Against Delaware Guard for Gaping Prisoner’s Butt During Strip Search, by Keith Sanders
- Almost 800 Deaths in South Carolina Jails and Prisons Six Years
- Fourth Circuit Revives Virginia Prisoner’s Challenge to Discipline for Allegedly Sexually Harassing Guard, by David Reutter
- Georgia Prisoner Allowed to Proceed on Section 1983 Claim Seeking Execution by Firing Squad, by David Reutter
- Iowa DOC Changes Policy After Ombudsman Calls Out Unfair Prisoner Discipline, by Kevin Bliss
- States Take Legislative Action to Address Family Separation by Incarceration, by Jordan Arizmendi
- Biden Granting More Pardons Than Trump, Fewer Than Obama, by Jordan Arizmendi
- Bad Lawyering, Bankruptcy Torpedo Suit Over Delaware Prisoner’s Death, by Jayson Hawkins
- California Appellate Court: Time Spent in Mental Hospital to Restore Competency is Time Served, by David Reutter
- FCC Requires Prison Telecoms to Provide Services for Deaf Prisoners, by Jordan Arizmendi
- $1.325 Million Settlement after Virginia Detainee’s Opiate Withdrawal Ignored in Jail, by David Reutter
- Nebraska Parole Board Members Showing Up to Work More Often, by Jordan Arizmendi, Chuck Sharman
- The World’s Biggest Prison, by Edward Lyon
- News in Brief
More from Chuck Sharman:
- ACLU Threatens New Lawsuit After Indiana County’s Repeated Failures to Abide by 17-Year-Old Settlement Agreement, May 1, 2026
- Spike in Massachusetts Prisoner Suicides Blamed on Isolation, K-2 and Spotty Mental Healthcare, May 1, 2026
- Exonerated Texas Prisoner Entitled to $1.68 Million After 22 Years of Wrongful Incarceration, May 1, 2026
- Atlanta Jail Boasts Improvements Since Consent Decree, Reports from Monitor and ACLU Are More Critical, May 1, 2026
- Fourth Circuit Revives North Carolina Prisoner’s Suit Blaming Lazy Guards for Assault by Detainee, May 1, 2026
- $9.8 Million in Settlements Reached with South Carolina County and Wellpath in Gruesome Jail Death, May 1, 2026
- New York Juvenile Detention Officials Sued for Abusing Adolescents with Solitary Confinement, May 1, 2026
- NaphCare Pays $875,000 to Settle New York License Violations, Banned from State for Five Years, May 1, 2026
- Texas Officials Testify That Cost to Air Condition Prisons Tops $1.5 Billion, May 1, 2026
- $2.135 Million Partial Settlement Reached in Schizophrenic Detainee’s Death from “Gross Medical Neglect” at South Carolina Jail, May 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- Federal Death Row Prisoners Granted Clemency by Biden Are Facing Retaliation by Trump, Feb. 1, 2026. Transfers, Pardons/Clemency, Death Row, Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Confinement in Segregated Housing.
- Eighth Circuit Announces Presidential Commutation Does Not Moot Challenge to Underlying Sentence, Jan. 1, 2026. Pardons/Clemency, First Step Act, Qualifying Offenses, Sentence Enhancements/Departures, Authority and Jurisdiction.
- Oklahoma Prisoner Found Unconscious in Cell Hours After Avoiding Execution, Dec. 1, 2025. Public Defenders, Pardons/Clemency, Life without Parole (LWOP), Death Penalty, Effective Assistance of Counsel.
- Missouri Blocks Spiritual Advisors from Prison Pastor’s Execution, Nov. 1, 2025. Pardons/Clemency, Death Penalty, Lethal Injection Method of Execution, Religious Freedom/Worship, Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA).
- SCOTUS Overturns Oklahoma Prisoner’s Death Sentence After More than 25 Years on Death Row, Nov. 1, 2025. Ex Post Facto, Good Time, Wrongful Conviction, Habeas Corpus, Wrongful Imprisonment, Pardons/Clemency, First Step Act, Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act (CAFRA), Specific Offenses, Controlled Substances, Weapons, Accuracy of Information, Depraved Indifference Murder, Evidence - Circumstantial, Theft, Failure to Disclose, Perjury/Perjured Testimony, Evidence - Failure to Disclose, New Trial - Motions for, Pleas Linked to Cooperation, Evidence - Destruction/Fabrication/Manipulation of, Selective Prosecution/Enforcement, Improper Comments, Official Report, Withholding of Exculpatory Evidence, Exculpatory Evidence - Disclosure Obligations.
- Former Prisoner Informant Appointed Deputy Director of BOP, July 15, 2025. Prison Reform, Criminal justice system reform, Informants, War on Drugs, Pardons/Clemency, Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Trading Guns for Drugs.
- Trump Pardons Virginia Sheriff Convicted of a Bribes-for-Badges Scheme, July 15, 2025. Misconduct/Corruption, Pardons/Clemency, Bribery/Extortion/Theft.
- Tennessee Board of Parole Spanked for Failing to Make Recommendation to Governor on Prisoner’s Clemency Application, July 15, 2025. Parole Board Misconduct, Pardons/Clemency, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release, Release Decisions.
- Former Prisoner Appointed President’s Pardon “Czar”, May 1, 2025. Pardons/Clemency, Appointments Clause.
- Biden Clemency Recipients Included Virginians Sentenced for “Acquitted Conduct”, April 1, 2025. Wrongful Conviction, Pardons/Clemency, False Confessions, Drug Laws/Offenses.

