Newsom Moves To Commute All 548 California Death Sentences

California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday that he will move to commute every death sentence in the state, converting all 548 people on death row to life in prison without the possibility of parole.^[1]

In a public letter released Thursday, Newsom called capital punishment "state-sanctioned killing" and said it is "incompatible with California's values," stressing that he alone is responsible for the decision and its consequences.^[1] His office said the planned commutations would cover 529 men and 19 women, all of whom would instead serve life terms without parole, and confirmed that 382 people with more than one conviction will need approval from the California Supreme Court before their sentences can be formally reduced.^[2] The American Civil Liberties Union welcomed the announcement, calling it an end to a "racist, error-prone, and inhumane" punishment and tying it to its broader legal challenge to the state's death penalty statute.^[1]

Newsom's move escalates a years-long push by his administration to dismantle capital punishment in California through executive action, even as the death penalty remains on the books. He previously imposed a moratorium on executions shortly after taking office and ordered the closure of the execution chamber at San Quentin State Prison, but until now had not sought to systematically change the sentences of everyone on death row. Voters narrowly rejected a 2016 ballot measure that would have repealed the death penalty, leaving the statute intact and highlighting the political risk of acting unilaterally on an issue the electorate has twice declined to end at the ballot box.^[1]

Under the California Constitution, any clemency request for someone with more than one felony conviction must be approved by the state Supreme Court, turning the court into a crucial gatekeeper for most of the commutations Newsom plans.^[1] Newsom's office said 382 of the 548 condemned people fall into that category, meaning their sentences cannot be formally converted unless the justices sign off, though governors traditionally receive wide deference in clemency decisions.^[2] The governor's plan also does not repeal or amend the death penalty law itself; prosecutors can still seek capital sentences in new cases, but those sentences would be subject to the same commutation policy as long as Newsom, or a like-minded successor, remains in office.^[1]

Civil rights advocates cast Thursday's announcement as both a moral statement and a practical step that could influence courts and lawmakers. The ACLU argued that the decision underscores its claim, in ongoing litigation, that California's death penalty system is structurally unfair and should be struck down, pointing to racial disparities and wrongful convictions it says have plagued capital cases.^[1] Supporters of capital punishment, who successfully opposed the 2016 repeal effort, are likely to frame Newsom's action as defying voter will and denying what they see as justice for victims' families, setting up another round of political and legal clashes over whether the state's death row exists only on paper.

1. PBS News
2. Wall Street Journal