California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a plan to commute the sentences of all 548 people on the state’s death row to life in prison without parole, with 382 cases requiring California Supreme Court approval. (Foto: Instagram)
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Nov. 5 that he plans to change the sentences of all 548 people awaiting execution in the state to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The plan could empty California’s death row, but 382 commutations require approval from the California Supreme Court.
Newsom announced the move as one of his final acts as governor. He is expected to leave office in January. He said his opposition to capital punishment was rooted in the belief that executions carried out by the state conflict with California’s values.
In a letter to Californians, Newsom said he firmly believed state-authorized killing was incompatible with the state’s values, undermined the foundations of the legal system and diminished everyone. He also acknowledged that the decision could reopen wounds for relatives of crime victims, describing it as one of the hardest choices of his political career because of its emotional consequences for those families.
The plan covers 529 men and 19 women sentenced to death. The 382 cases requiring court approval involve prisoners convicted of more than one serious crime; in those cases, the governor cannot grant clemency alone. If all the commutations are approved, none of the 548 prisoners would remain subject to execution.
California has not executed a prisoner since 2006. In 2019, Newsom issued an executive order suspending executions, while leaving the death penalty in state law. Hundreds of people remained on death row during the suspension. Newsom has said the system is marked by racial disparities, judicial errors and high costs, and has argued that capital punishment is not an effective deterrent to crime. California has the largest death-row population in the Western Hemisphere.
The planned commutations would not abolish the death penalty in California. State law would still allow the punishment in new cases; formal abolition would require a change to state law, potentially through a popular vote. In 2016, California voters rejected a proposal to abolish capital punishment and approved a separate measure intended to speed up executions. Governor-elect Xavier Becerra also opposes the death penalty and has said he intends to maintain the suspension of executions.
