Video taking off 106x its usual first day

Murder victim's father says Newsom should have contacted families

NBCLA's report centers Steve Herr's response to the governor's death-sentence commutations, including his objection to how families learned of the decision.

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NBCLA Story of November 8, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 411,825 views a day, 106 times a normal first day on this channel (3,894).

Murder victim's father speaks out after Newsom takes killer off death row

Things we can learn from the video

Press to jump

0:00The anchor reports that Newsom has commuted the death sentences of 548 prisoners.
0:22Steve Herr recalls weekly visits with his son; later, he describes continuing visits to his grave.
1:53The Orange County District Attorney's Office argues that the commutations disregard California voters' wishes.
2:32Herr says Newsom should have contacted victims' families personally before addressing the press.
3:00NBCLA reports no response from Newsom's office and notes that some victims' families support clemency.

Steve Herr remembers visiting his son Sam every week before he was killed. He still regularly visits his grave at Riverside National Cemetery. In NBCLA's report on California's death-sentence commutations, those memories sit alongside a specific complaint: victims' families deserved to hear directly from the governor.

"He could have had the decency to address the families one by one, personally," Herr says.

Robert Kovacik's report covers Gavin Newsom's decision to commute the death sentences of hundreds of prisoners, including the man convicted of murdering Sam Herr and his friend Julie Kibuishi. Herr says the decision has deeply hurt his family and criticizes Newsom for going to the press without first contacting them personally.

The segment drew about 412,000 views in its first day, compared with the few thousand usual for NBCLA's regular-length uploads. But the substance of the interview is a father's account of what the decision means to him, rather than an abstract argument about capital punishment.

Kimberly Edds, representing the Orange County District Attorney's Office, also criticizes the commutations, arguing that the governor has disregarded California voters' wishes.

At the close of the report, NBCLA says Newsom's office had not responded. It also notes that some victims' families support the clemency decision and planned a virtual press conference urging swift court review.

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