She caused a terrible crime. Now she’s trying to answer why
by Lynn La August 27, 2026
Gov. Gavin Newsom knows his changes to California prisons will be part of his legacy, from suspending the death penalty to refashioning San Quentin as a hub for rehabilitation.
“It was always about public safety,” Newsom told a San Quentin press conference in February. “It was about dealing with the fundamental fact that 95% of people in this system are going to go back into your neighborhood. And what kind of neighbors do you want them to be?”
Today we’re publishing a special report on what rehabilitation looks like for one young woman who committed a terrible crime and received a life sentence. The story might be difficult to read.
While driving drunk at age 22, Grace Coleman killed two parents, Gabriela Andrade and Henry Saldana-Mejia. Coleman had no memory of the accident and had to piece together details of what happened from her hospital bed.
- Coleman: “In the beginning, I was like, all right — I clearly got to get therapy. I need to get my mental health in check. Clearly something is wrong with me if I just woke up and found out I killed people. This doesn’t just happen.”
Her path forward really began when she pleaded guilty and spent time with her victims’ family. As CalMatters’ Joe Garcia writes, she’s now incarcerated at a time when California is encouraging rehabilitation for people who are willing to wrestle with the why of what they did. Because of these changes, she has access to therapy, medication, support groups and activities that were not necessarily available in years past.
Although sentenced to life, Coleman likely will be paroled one day. What happens after that will answer Newsom’s question on what kind of neighbors former prisoners will become.
- Jeff Roberts, an attorney who represented Coleman’s victims: “Grace needed to serve a good length of time. But I don’t think she needed to serve a life sentence, because quite frankly — that she killed two people and left three people orphaned is a life sentence. Emotionally, she won’t forget about that.”
Continue/Read Original Article: CA prison rehabilitation after fatal DUI conviction
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