SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra is facing renewed scrutiny after The Intercept reported that, while serving as California attorney general, his office pushed to “artificially inflate” a Black man’s IQ in a death penalty case.
The case involved Robert Lewis, who was sentenced to death in 1991 and later argued he was ineligible for execution because he was “intellectually disabled.” Becerra’s office continued a legal position first advanced under former California Attorney General Kamala Harris, whose office asked the courts to adjust Lewis’ IQ score based on race, according to The Intercept.
That race-based IQ adjustment could have made Lewis eligible for execution. The state’s effort failed in 2018, when the California Supreme Court overturned Lewis’ death sentence. Two years later, California lawmakers passed a measure banning race-based IQ adjustments in death penalty cases.
Lewis’ attorney, Robert Sanger, said attorneys general cannot personally oversee every action by deputy attorneys general. However, he criticized how Becerra’s office handled the case after Lewis had already received an intellectual disability determination.
Sanger said he believed the attorney general’s office could have chosen to “let it go” instead of continuing the case to oral arguments before the California Supreme Court.
Becerra has not taken a clear public position on the death penalty during his campaign for governor. He previously said he had “serious reservations” about capital punishment and voted for a 2016 California ballot measure to abolish the death penalty.
However, two years after that vote, Becerra’s office still argued for Lewis’ execution. His office also fought to uphold death penalty sentences during the COVID-19 pandemic, even after Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a moratorium on executions in 2019.
Natasha Minsker, who leads the California Anti-Death Penalty Coalition, criticized Democratic attorneys general who take credit for progressive actions while avoiding responsibility for punitive legal positions advanced by their offices.
Becerra’s campaign website lists priorities including affordable housing, lowering costs, clean energy, disaster preparedness, artificial intelligence and homelessness. However, the website does not include a specific criminal justice page.
Becerra has also supported some reforms. In an American Civil Liberties Union questionnaire, he supported prevention-focused strategies, increased funding for public defenders, limits on facial recognition in police body cameras, public access to police records and social service responses to homelessness and mental health crises.
Still, his record as attorney general drew criticism over police accountability. In 2019, two California newspaper editorial boards criticized him for siding with law enforcement “against public transparency” and betraying “public trust and the law.”
Becerra also threatened criminal charges against journalists unless they destroyed a list of police officers convicted of crimes. During his attorney general campaign, he received more than $300,000 from law enforcement unions.
The California Correctional Peace Officers Association’s political action committee gave $320,000 to a group supporting Becerra and other candidates. News outlets questioned whether Becerra could “police the police” while receiving major support from law enforcement unions.
In 2020, Becerra opposed a bill requiring independent state investigations of police killings. This came after he declined to investigate the police killing of Sean Monterrosa, who was shot in the back of the head by a police officer.
Becerra’s office later launched an investigation into the destruction of evidence in the Monterrosa case.
Michelle Monterrosa, Sean Monterrosa’s sister, told the San Francisco Standard she would not vote for Becerra and questioned whether he was truly “standing with the people.”
Becerra’s criminal justice record has received less attention in the governor’s race, even as Republican opponents emphasize “tough-on-crime” positions. His campaign has focused on broader statewide issues, while critics continue raising concerns about death penalty litigation, police transparency and law enforcement influence during his time as attorney general.
Follow the Vanguard on Social Media – X, Instagram and Facebook. Subscribe the Vanguard News letters. To make a tax-deductible donation, please visit davisvanguard.org/donate or give directly through ActBlue. Your support will ensure that the vital work of the Vanguard continues.
