Newsom commutes California death sentences to life without parole

California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday that he is commuting the death sentences of 548 people to life in prison without the possibility of parole, clearing the state’s death row while leaving its death penalty law in place.

In an open letter, Newsom said he was using his constitutional clemency authority to take what he called “among the most difficult” steps of his career. “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,” he wrote.

The commutations do not repeal the death penalty or prevent prosecutors from seeking it in future cases. Newsom said those decisions remain with prosecutors, juries and courts. CBS News reported that some commutations will require California Supreme Court review because the state constitution requires court approval before a governor can grant clemency to someone convicted of more than one felony.

Newsom said his action affects 548 people under death sentence, a population he described as “the largest death row in the Western Hemisphere.” NBC News reported that Department of Corrections records listed 561 inmates on death row as of Tuesday. The sources did not explain the difference between the two figures.

California has not executed a prisoner since Clarence Ray Allen was put to death by lethal injection on Jan. 17, 2006. The BBC reported that the state has carried out 13 executions since voters reinstated the death penalty in 1978. Newsom imposed a moratorium on executions in 2019, but the death sentences remained in place. The Guardian reported that the commutations ensure those now under death sentence cannot be executed by a future administration.

Newsom acknowledged the gravity of the crimes involved. “Many Californians feel that those who commit brutal crimes deserve to die. But as Governor, I have concluded the state cannot morally kill them,” he wrote. He called California’s system for administering the death penalty a failure that cannot be applied fairly and said life without parole is the most severe punishment he can lawfully impose through clemency and ethically enforce.

“We can now let these offenders die in obscurity while we forever remember and honour the victims,” he wrote, according to the BBC. The broadcaster reported that the decision could save millions of dollars in annual court costs, citing experts.

California voters have repeatedly rejected proposals to abolish capital punishment. CBS News reported that they voted down a repeal measure in 2012, rejected another in 2016 and narrowly approved a measure intended to speed up death penalty cases that same year. California remains one of 27 states with the death penalty on its books, according to The Guardian.