More than two decades after Merced Police Officer Stephan Gray was fatally shot, city leaders and community members are speaking out against Governor Gavin Newsom's decision to commute the death sentence of Gray's convicted killer, Tao Rivera.
Rivera is now one of 548 death row inmates whose sentences have been converted to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The move is part of a broader action by Newsom that cleared California's death row, with dozens of Valley cases among those commuted.
The case remains deeply felt in Merced, where Gray's memory is preserved through a stretch of Highway 99 bearing his name and a local park dedicated in his honor.
Retired Merced Police Chief Tony Dossetti said the events of April 15, 2004, are still vivid for him. "Absolutely the worst day in my career. The bottom just fell out. I can't describe the feeling of what I felt. It was something I had never felt before," Dossetti said. He added that the loss continues to weigh on the city, saying, "I can't tell you how devastating it is to this community and to his family. It's horrible."
On Friday, Merced County District Attorney Nicole Silveira condemned the governor's action, calling it an unprecedented abuse of power. "Tao Rivera callously took his life, and he deserves to be on death row for that. A jury decided that. California state voters have upheld it twice, and what the governor has done is a complete disregard of due process and rights of our victims," Silveira said.
Silveira noted that securing the conviction was not simple. "It took a few years to go through the trial. We had to try out of county because there was a possibility of bias from the community," she said.
In a letter issued Thursday, Newsom described California's death penalty system as a failure and defended the commutations, saying state-sanctioned executions are not compatible with California's values. A representative of the American Civil Liberties Union also spoke in opposition to capital punishment, saying California's death penalty is tied to discrimination and cannot be carried out in a manner consistent with equality and fairness.
The dispute comes as Merced County presses forward with another capital case. Silveira said her office still intends to seek the death penalty against Jesus Salgado, who is accused in the 2022 killings of an 8-month-old girl, her parents and her uncle. "Our practice is not going to change just because the governor inflicted his personal beliefs into our justice system," she said.
Silveira said her office is working to formally oppose Rivera's commutation and is exploring potential options alongside other district attorneys across California.
