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California Governor Gavin Newsom announced Thursday that he aims to commute the death sentences of everyone on the state's death row, replacing them with life imprisonment without possibility of parole in a sweeping move that could reshape the future of capital punishment in the state and across the country.
“We can now let these offenders die in obscurity while we forever remember and honor the victims,” Newsom said in an open letter to Californians announcing the decision.
California has the largest death row in the Western Hemisphere, with 548 people facing execution: 529 men and 19 women, according to Newsom's office.
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The Democratic governor described the decision as one of the most difficult of his career, saying he recognized that the announcement could bring back painful memories for victims' families.
“I have concluded that attempting to distinguish among crimes and offenders for clemency would inadvertently create two classes of murder victims—those whose perpetrators deserve the death penalty and then the rest,” he wrote.
Newsom raised the possibility of commuting California's death row during an October 1 conversation on his podcast with Bryan Stevenson, civil rights attorney and founder/executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, who encouraged him to pursue the idea, saying it could become a pivotal moment for the country.
Speaking to Newsweek following Thursday's announcement, Stevenson said he was “thrilled” by Newsom's decision, calling it a “really important act of moral leadership.”
“I think it's pretty amazing to have a governor of one of the largest states in the country say, I am not going to allow executions that are the result of a system that is so fundamentally flawed,” he said.
Stevenson also argued that the Supreme Court has largely retreated from its historical oversight of death penalty cases, making governors' use of their clemency powers increasingly important.
“We don't have the protection that the court used to provide. And so I think it's important that governors step up,” he said. “And this is obviously an historic and unprecedented use of the commutation power, but I think it's a necessary one.”
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Reactions to Newsom's Decision
Among the most notorious convicted killers on California's death row is Richard Allen Davis, who kidnapped and murdered 12-year-old Polly Klaas in 1993.
Jess Nichol, Klaas' sister, said her views on capital punishment had evolved. Although she previously believed Davis deserved the death penalty, she said execution was not necessary for survivors to heal.
“The system tells survivors that execution matters to our healing,” Nichol said in a statement to the Associated Press. “It doesn’t. It’s a distraction from what we actually need.”
Patricia Wenskunas, founder of the California-based nonprofit Crime Survivors, which has opposed efforts to abolish the death penalty, criticized the move.
“My heart hurts for every one of the victims and every one of their family members,” she said, calling the decision “offensive” and “outrageous.”
The California District Attorneys Association rebuked the move, warning last month that a blanket decision could cause additional anguish for victims' families. “With the stroke of a pen, Governor Newsom has disregarded the decisions of hundreds of jurors and judges, and the anguish of families who lost loved ones to the worst crimes imaginable,” group President Jeannine M. Pacioni said in a statement.
Robin Maher, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC), called the announcement historic. “Governor Newsom’s announcement marks a decisive moment in the history of the death penalty in the United States. Though other governors have granted universal clemencies, none have been at this scale,” Maher said.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) also applauded the move, describing the commutations as a step toward ending a punishment it says is marked by racial bias and the risk of wrongful convictions. “These commutations reflect what justice demands: an end to a racist, error-prone, and inhumane punishment that has burdened California for far too long,” organization Executive Director Anthony Romero said in a statement.
The ACLU has also been involved in a legal challenge to California's death penalty system, alleging that the state's capital punishment law is discriminatory and unconstitutional.
Republican U.S. Representative Nancy Mace, however, called the decision “unbelievably disgusting.”
“Gavin Newsom just told the victim of every criminal on death row, their justice doesn't matter,” the South Carolina congresswoman wrote on X Thursday. “Unbelievably disgusting. Stop coddling criminals and start supporting victims.”
How Much Could Newsom's Decision Change Death Row?
Around 2,100 prisoners face execution in the United States, according to the DPIC. California's 548 death row prisoners account for roughly a quarter of that figure.
If approved, Newsom's commutations could reduce the number of people sentenced to death nationwide by nearly a third, according to an analysis by The Marshall Project, which used data collected by scholar Frank Baumgartner and the DPIC.
The national death row population has declined for 20 consecutive years, as sentence reversals, executions and deaths from other causes have outpaced new death sentences, according to the DPIC.
However, the commutations are not automatic. Under the California Constitution, the state Supreme Court must approve clemency for people convicted of multiple felonies. That requirement applies to 382 of the 548 people Newsom is seeking to commute.
California's Death Penalty
Newsom imposed a moratorium on executions in California in 2019. The state has not executed anyone since 2006. The governor has long criticized California's death penalty system as unfairly applied and vulnerable to wrongful convictions.
The moratorium did not abolish the death penalty or prevent prosecutors from seeking death sentences. Abolishing capital punishment in California would require legislative action or a voter-approved measure. Voters rejected ballot measures to repeal the death penalty in 2012 and 2016.
Newsom's successor, Xavier Becerra, has said he plans to extend the state's moratorium on executions.
Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here. Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Anna Commander and Edward T. Cummins
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