Newsom moves to commute every death sentence in California

California Governor Gavin Newsom has announced that he will commute the death sentences of all 548 people on the state’s death row, replacing them with life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. The decision represents the largest single move away from capital punishment in California, although its full implementation depends on judicial approval in many cases. Newsom said in a letter to Californians that he was taking the action because he believes “state-sanctioned killing is incompatible with California’s values.” He said the decision was among the most difficult of his career because it would revive painful memories for the families of victims.

“As Governor, I alone bear responsibility for this decision and its impact,” he wrote. The governor has opposed the death penalty for years. Soon after taking office in 2019, he imposed a moratorium on executions, but hundreds of condemned prisoners remained on death row.

California has not executed anyone since 2006, and only 13 people have been put to death in the state since voters reinstated capital punishment in 1978. The state constitution requires the California Supreme Court to approve clemency for anyone convicted of a felony more than once. Numbers supplied by Newsom’s office indicate that 382 of the 548 commutations—about 70%—will require that approval.

ABC News reported that the death-row population includes 529 men and 19 women. The reports do not establish when the court will consider the applications or whether it will approve all of them. The practical effect may therefore be limited in the short term.

The BBC described the announcement as largely symbolic because executions had already stopped, while also reporting that experts believe ending death-penalty litigation could save millions of dollars in court costs each year. California has historically had the largest death-row population in the United States and the western hemisphere. Newsom acknowledged that Californians had voted to retain capital punishment.

In 2016, 53% rejected a ballot measure that would have abolished it. He argued that the constitution also gives governors clemency authority for situations in which the law, as applied, cannot be reconciled with justice. He has previously said that capital punishment is applied unfairly to people of color and those with mental illness.

The announcement follows renewed scrutiny of execution procedures after Christa Pike survived two attempts to inject her with lethal drugs in Tennessee in September. The reports also place Newsom’s decision against a broader American debate: the death penalty remains legal in 27 states, although more than 20 have abolished it, and executions have been increasing in the United States. The American Civil Liberties Union welcomed the commutations.

Its executive director, Anthony Romero, called the death penalty racist, error-prone and inhumane. The move also comes as Newsom approaches the end of his eight-year tenure and is discussed as a possible 2028 Democratic presidential contender. The BBC quoted a law professor who said abolitionist positioning could appeal to voters, but the political significance of the decision remains uncertain.