FRESNO, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom has allowed the parole release of a killer who served four decades in prison for the murder of a developmentally disabled man who was buried alive.
Officials said Monday that Newsom took no action Friday on the state parole board’s latest decision granting parole to David Weidert. Newsom's acceptance of the parole recommendation allows the release of David Weidert.
He received a life sentence for killing Michael Morganti in 1980. Newsom and his predecessor previously rejected Weidert's parole three times.
Weidert and an accomplice forced Morganti to dig his own grave. They then beat, stabbed and choked him. He suffocated after being buried alive.
Morganti had spoken to law enforcement about a burglary committed by Weidert in which Morganti was used as a lookout, according to reporting by ABC30 in Fresno.
Weidert's release was blocked three times previously by Gov. Newsom in 2020 and former Gov. Jerry Brown in 2015 and 2018.
According to the Associated Press, Gov. Newsom did not give a reason why he is now accepting the findings of the Board of Parole Hearings.
To read the full story on the release of Weidert from the Associated Press, click HERE.
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