Kate Brown granted clemency to Hedquist, who was serving a life sentence without parole after being convicted of murdering Nikki Thrasher when he was 17. "The executive clemency granted by Gov. Brown in this case is shocking and irresponsible," Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin said Tuesday in a statement. While locked up in the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem, Hedquist spent over 20 years volunteering for hospice care services, said Liz Merah, Brown’s spokeswoman. Oregonians granted clemency have demonstrated they have turned their lives around and pose a low risk to the public, she said.

Source: Fox News April 28, 2022 12:10 UTC