Newsom pardons 19 people, including co-founder of San Quentin podcast ‘Ear Hustle’

The day before Thanksgiving, Gov. Gavin Newsom granted pardons for 19 people, including award-winning San Quentin podcaster Earlonne Woods.

“Ear Hustle,� the popular and critically acclaimed podcast that Woods co-founded from inside San Quentin State Prison in 2017, was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in 2020. It takes its title from a prison slang term for eavesdropping.

The grantees have “turned their lives around since their convictions and have demonstrated a commitment of service to their families and communities,� the governor’s office said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.

Newsom weighs a number of factors when reviewing clemency applications, “including an applicant’s self-development and conduct since the offense, whether the grant is in the interest of justice, and the impact of a grant on the community, including crime victims and survivors,� according to his office.

“Today, I got a call from Gov. Newsom,� Woods said in an Instagram video Wednesday afternoon, recounting how the governor had relayed the news to him and expressed appreciation for his work. “So, your boy has been pardoned!�

Woods, who had two prior convictions as a teenager, was sentenced to 31 years to life for his role in a 1997 armed robbery under the state’s “three strikes� law.

The podcaster’s sentence was commuted by former Gov. Jerry Brown in 2018 — a move that made Woods eligible for parole. Woods interviewed Brown for the podcast at the Sacramento governor’s mansion after his release.

Born and raised in South Central Los Angeles, Woods was hired by Public Radio Exchange as a full-time producer and co-host for “Ear Hustle� after his release. He also received his GED, attended Coastline Community College and completed vocational trade programs while incarcerated, according to an “Ear Hustle� biography.

Newsom had previously announced that he was submitting a pardon application for Woods in March. State law does not allow the governor to directly pardon or commute the sentences of someone with more than one felony conviction without going through a multi-step process that includes approval from the state Supreme Court, hence the earlier application.

The other 18 grantees include Damian Clopton, a Sonoma County restaurateur who expressed deep gratitude to Newsom for signing his pardon.

“I already did turn my life around and this is a recognition of that,� said Clopton, who was incarcerated for possessing a controlled substance for sale and transporting a controlled substance for sale. He was released in 2010.

As a small-business owner, he said the pardon will have an immediate effect on his life because “there are a lot of federal programs I’m not able to take advantage of or be eligible for with a criminal conviction. … It’s still a scarlet letter.�

Times staff writers Taryn Luna and Hannah Wiley contributed to this report.