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The Death of Louis Santos
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Louis Santos (Luis Felipe Watson dos Santos) (June 27, 1986 — October 4, 2008) was a 22-year-old Mesa College student, fatally stabbed near San Diego State University campus on October 4, 2008.
One of the men convicted in his death was Esteban Núñez, who pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, and was sentenced to 16 years in prison. Núñez’s father, then California Assembly Speaker of the House, Fabian Núñez, was a close friend and staunch political ally of then governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. As a personal favor to “a friend”, just hours before he left office, and as one of his last official acts, Schwarzenegger commuted Núñez’s sentence by more than half, to seven years. Against protocol, Schwarzenegger did not inform Santos’ family or the San Diego County prosecutors about the commutation. They learned about it in a call from a reporter. In April 2016, Esteban Núñez was released from prison, serving less than six years of his original 16-year sentence.
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