Gavin Newsom grants pardon to famed podcaster, former San Quentin inmate

California Gov. Gavin Newsom granted 19 Thanksgiving eve pardons, including one to a Pulitzer Prize finalist who produced the popular "Ear Hustle" podcast while imprisoned at San Quentin.

Earlonne Woods, of the award-winning podcast, received a “full and unconditional” pardon from Newsom Wednesday after the governor recognized “the work he has done to transform himself.”

Woods helped start “Ear Hustle” in 2017, the year before his release from San Quentin. He still co-hosts the show from outside the state's oldest prison.

With some 80 million downloads, the show brings listeners inside the notorious lockup to hear about the daily lives and struggles of its residents. “Ear Hustle” was the first audio show to be named a Pulitzer finalist when it earned that designation in 2020.

Woods is working with actor Morgan Freeman’s entertainment company on a docuseries, according to Deadline.

In 1989 at age 17, he was first sentenced to 10 years in prison in Los Angeles for burglary and kidnapping. A decade later he was sentenced again to a potential life term after attempting to rob a victim at gunpoint, according to the pardon.

Former Gov. Jerry Brown originally commuted Woods’ second sentence in 2018.

Newsom first announced plans to request the pardon in May, but it required sign off from the state Supreme Court because Wood had been convicted of multiple felonies.

Newsom has granted more than 200 pardons during his time in office.