Commutation granted
Commutations within the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation are infrequent, and inside the Central California Women’s Facility, they are rarer still.
According to the Executive Report on Clemency from 2025, only one in 19 commutations approved by Gov. Gavin Newsom was a woman: Her name is Karina Poncio. She was sentenced to life without parole plus a 25-to-life gun enhancement. She sat down to talk about her experience. Here is what she had to say:
Q: What made you think you were ready to apply for a commutation?
A: I felt I finally did enough work, although I really did not feel worthy of receiving one. Even today, I still struggle with the fact that I got it. I’m just blown away.
Q: In 2022, you put in for your commutation. What was that wait like?
A: When I put in the commutation, I actually thought I would never hear from them again, so there was no “waiting.” I truly thought my way out would be the courts. I never thought I would be granted a commutation.
Q: When you were granted a commutation, how did you get notified?
A: Associate Warden (AW) Thissen called my work and asked me to come up to the Watch Office. She told me there was a phone call for me. I was worried there was a problem with my family. She got on the phone and was connected to the person on the other line who was from the Governor’s Office. She put it on speaker, and that’s when I was told that I had been commuted to 25 to life. The AW asked if there was anything I wanted to say. I was so dumbfounded, I asked if they had the right person. She confirmed that it was me and said I would be going to Board [of Parole Hearings] in six months.
Q: How long did it take before it sank in that your sentence had been commuted?
A: To be honest, it is just barely sinking in, and I go to Board in a few days.
Q: What advice would you give someone who was applying for a commutation?
A: My advice is to do the packet and only the packet. I didn’t send them anything else because they had everything. I focused on answering the questions as truthfully as possible without any embellishments. I was myself; nothing more, nothing less.
