California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday that he will move to commute the death sentences of all 548 people currently on the state’s death row, replacing their punishments with life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. The sweeping decision would effectively clear California’s death row and mark the largest mass commutation of death sentences in modern U.S. history. The move comes as Newsom approaches the end of his second and final term as California’s governor, as he faces growing speculation about a possible 2028 presidential campaign.
Newsom explained his decision in an open letter to Californians, reaffirming his longstanding opposition to capital punishment. “I take this action because I firmly believe that state-sanctioned killing is incompatible with California’s values, undermines the foundation of our legal system, and diminishes each of us,” he wrote. The governor, who imposed a moratorium on executions in 2019, has repeatedly criticized the death penalty system as costly, discriminatory and vulnerable to wrongful convictions. California has not carried out an execution since 2006.
The commutations would affect 529 men and 19 women. However, the process requires additional legal approval for a substantial portion of the cases. Under the California Constitution, the state Supreme Court must approve clemency for prisoners with multiple felony convictions. Approximately 382 cases will require the court’s authorization, meaning the full process may not be completed before Newsom leaves office in January.
The executive action caps years of administrative resistance to executions in the nation’s most populous state. Following his inauguration in 2019, Newsom instituted an immediate moratorium on capital punishment, closing the execution chamber at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center despite voters having previously rejected ballot measures aimed at repealing capital punishment. California has not executed an inmate since 2006.
Civil rights organizations praised the widespread action, with the ACLU of Southern California calling the step a essential remedy to address a capital punishment structure that advocates argue is racially biased and unfixable. Conversely, victim rights advocates and conservative leaders sharply criticized the executive intervention, arguing that blanket commutations disregard the democratic directives of voters and deny justice to victims of horrific crimes.
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