Outrage Over Newsom Parole Of Killer

CRIME VICTIMS OUTRAGED AT NEWSOM'S RELEASE OF KILLER WHO BURIED MENTALLY DISABLED MAN ALIVE
"Newsom's decision to allow parole shows his contempt for justice, as well as victims."

SACRAMENTO — Crime Victims United of California (CVUC) today expressed its outrage that Governor Newsom allowed the release of convicted murderer David Weidert, who lured a mentally disabled man to a remote location, forced him to dig his own grave, beat him with a baseball bat and shovel, stabbed him, choked him with a telephone wire, and then buried him alive, where he ultimately suffocated to death.

"This is one of the most heartless, violent and gruesome murders I can think of — and all just to steal $500," said Nina Salarno Besselman, President of Crime Victims United, and a deputy district attorney. "Newsom's decision to allow parole in this case shows his complete contempt for justice, as well as victims.

"Some argue that his youth should be a factor, as he was 17 years old at the time of the crime. But if you are old enough to drive and enlist in military service, you are old enough to know that killing a man is the most serious thing you can do. And it should come with the most serious consequences.

"What's more, this murderer preyed on one of the most vulnerable in our society, making his crime even more heinous.

"Yet instead of thinking of the victim and his family — who has already had to relive this horrific event through 11 parole hearings — Governor Newsom and his Parole Board are thinking only of the criminal. How typical of this Governor. And how tragic for victims and for public safety. No wonder the Governor is being recalled.

"The killer's attorney points to his 'impeccable prison record.' And I say, 'so what?' Behaving appropriately should be the baseline, not something used as grounds for early release," said Salarno Besselman.

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