SACRAMENTO — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Sunday reduced the manslaughter sentence of Esteban Núñez, the son of former Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez.
It was perhaps Schwarzenegger's final official act as governor, coming just hours before he was to hand over control of the office to Jerry Brown at midnight.
Núñez's sentence was decreased from 16 years to seven years in the October 2008 stabbing death of a college student in San Diego. Nunez, 21, is being held at Mule Creek State Prison in Ione and has served roughly six months of his term.
Schwarzenegger's office said Núñez's original sentence was "excessive" given his "limited role" in the death of 22-year-old Luis Dos Santos.
Núñez and co-defendant Ryan Jett, 24, pleaded guilty in May to voluntary manslaughter and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, avoiding life terms. Both were sentenced to 16 years in prison.
The governor argued that Núñez did not deserve the same sentence as Jett, who, authorities said, delivered the fatal stab wound to Dos Santos.
"Considering Núñez's limited role in the killing and his clean prior criminal record, I believe his sentence is disproportionate in comparison to Jett's," the governor wrote in his commutation letter.
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