He killed a Ceres man because his uncle said “get rid of” him. He was given clemency.
When Sean Robert Benge was convicted of first-degree murder in the 2005 shooting of Steven Glenn Brown, a Stanislaus County judge sentenced him to life in prison without parole. But he could get his first chance at freedom seven years from now.
On Dec. 24, Gov. Jerry Brown commuted Benge’s sentence to 25 years to life in prison with an opportunity for parole. The website for the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation on Friday indicated that Benge will become eligible for parole in April 2026.
“Many people sentenced to life without the possibility of parole give up hope and lose themselves in drugs, gangs and violence,” according to a declaration signed by the governor. “Faced with such a sentence, Mr. Benge has instead shown a commitment to rehabilitating himself.”
Authorities have said Benge — then a 26-year-old man from Turlock — went into the victim’s Ceres home in January 2005, waited for him to arrive, then shot the 45-year-old man. Prosecutors said Brown’s body was discovered by his 12-year-old daughter when she came from school.
Jerry Michael Benge, the convicted man’s uncle, testified in court he had an affair with Brown’s wife. Jerry Benge was related to the victim by marriage.
Jerry Benge told authorities he asked his nephew, Sean Benge, to help him “get rid of” Brown or “cause him serious injury,” according to detectives. The uncle was convicted of voluntary manslaughter for his role in Brown’s death and was sentenced to 11 years in prison.
The Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office in a news release said the Governor’s Office did not seek any input from the victim’s family or prosecutors before deciding to commute Sean Benge’s prison sentence.
Prosecutors said they sent a letter to the Governor’s Office asking Brown to deny Benge’s clemency application, but the District Attorney’s Office said that letter was ignored and no response was ever received.
The governor in his declaration commuting Benge’s sentence said that he felt it was appropriate, so a parole board years from now can determine whether Benge is suitable to be released from prison.
“I understand that this crime was devastating to Mr. Brown’s family, and that they continue to experience a profound sense of loss,” according to the governor’s declaration. “However, I cannot overlook Mr. Benge’s hard work in turning his life around in prison.”
The Stanislaus County prosecutors in late August requested from state corrections officials records of Benge’s behavior in prison. The prosecutors said in the news release that their records request was ignored.
Benge was arrested about a month after Brown’s shooting death. He was held at the Stanislaus County Jail until after he was sentenced in 2009. Benge, now 40, remains incarcerated at Valley State Prison in Chowchilla.
The governor’s declaration indicated Benge never has been disciplined in for misconduct while in prison, and he never has been involved in gangs, drugs or violence in prison. He earned a high school general equivalency degree while behind bars, and has maintained a positive work record with “excellent” ratings from his supervisors.
Benge’s clemency was a part of Brown’s annual Christmas Eve clemency actions that included 143 pardons and 131 commutations.
The Sacramento Bee reported that Brown sought to provide more opportunities for parole, aiming to give inmates incentives to improve themselves while in custody. He has also handed down more pardons and commutations than any other California governor.