California Governor Gavin Newsom announced Thursday that he will commute the death sentences of all 548 inmates on the state's death row, effectively clearing capital punishment in California. This action converts all death sentences to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
Newsom, a Democrat, stated in a letter to constituents that California's capital punishment system is fundamentally flawed, error-prone, and incompatible with the state's values. "I take this action because I firmly believe that state-sanctioned killing is incompatible with California’s values, undermines the foundations of our legal system, and diminishes each of us," Newsom wrote.
California has not carried out an execution since 2006. Shortly after taking office in 2019, Newsom issued an executive moratorium on executions and ordered the dismantling of the execution chamber at San Quentin State Prison.
The decision has drawn immediate criticism from victims' rights advocates. Marc Klaas, whose daughter Polly was murdered in 1993 and whose killer remains on death row, expressed disappointment. "He just gave the gift of life to [hundreds of] people who took the gift of life from their victims," Klaas told Fox News Digital. "I don't understand his rationale behind it… but it's probably the same old tired stuff that he said when he did his moratorium."
Conversely, anti-death penalty advocates have praised the move. Rev. Jeff Hood, a spiritual adviser to death row inmates, called the commutations "the height of moral leadership" and urged other governors to follow Newsom's lead.
The governor's decision comes amid renewed national conversations surrounding capital punishment, partly influenced by recent events such as a botched execution in Tennessee.