California governor commutes death sentences of all 548 people on state's death row
California Governor Gavin Newsom has announced he will commute the sentences of all 548 people on the state's death row to life without parole. It is the largest mass clemency in US history.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, announced on Thursday that he will commute the sentences of all 548 people on the state's death row, converting them to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. The source describes it as the largest mass clemency in US history. California has not carried out an execution in 20 years.
In an open letter, Newsom said state-sanctioned killing is incompatible with California's values, undermines the foundations of the legal system and diminishes everyone.
What the figures show
The Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC), a US research group, says California has spent $6bn on capital punishment since 1978 while carrying out just 13 executions. Since 1973, at least 203 people wrongly convicted and sentenced to death in the US have later been exonerated. Newsom's decision will cut the national death row population by nearly 30 percent, though California will still have the country's largest.
A Pew Research Center poll published in August found 66 percent of Americans back the death penalty for people convicted of murder, while roughly 73 percent acknowledged a risk of executing an innocent person. Twenty-three states have banned the practice outright. President Donald Trump, a Republican, supports capital punishment for serious federal crimes, and in April his administration pledged to expand federal executions, including by firing squad.
Court review still required
Criminal justice groups welcomed the move. DPIC executive director Robin Maher said other governors have granted universal clemency but none on this scale. About two-thirds of the commutations must be reviewed by the California Supreme Court before becoming final, as state law requires for anyone with multiple felony convictions.
Newsom has served nearly eight years as governor, and his second and final term ends in January 2027. Former US Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra will take over on January 4. Newsom has long been seen as a possible presidential contender, and the announcement comes days after Democratic gains in the US midterm elections.
