California governor commutes sentences of more than 500 people on death row

California Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Thursday that he will commute the death sentences of all 548 inmates currently facing execution in his state, the largest death row in the western hemisphere. This decision, outlined in a three-page letter addressed to "all Californians," comes as Newsom, a Democrat with aspirations for his party's presidential nomination in 2028, nears the end of his second and final four-year term as governor.

Previously serving as mayor of San Francisco and lieutenant governor, Newsom declared a moratorium on executions in March 2019, shortly after assuming the governorship. California had not carried out an execution since 2006 under Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. In his announcement, Newsom reflected on his nearly three decades in public service, stating that he had come to understand the limits of what government could justly accomplish.

He firmly believed that state-sanctioned killing was incompatible with California's values, leading to this decision. The US debate over capital punishment has gained momentum following the failed execution by the state of Tennessee on September 30 of Christa Pike, who survived two attempts to inject her with lethal drugs. Pike was hospitalized afterward and returned to prison on October 10.

Recent scrutiny of the death penalty also arose from US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's plans to live-stream the scheduled firing-squad execution of Nidal Hasan, convicted of killing 13 people and wounding over 30 others at the Fort Hood military base in Texas on November 5, 2009. Despite initial plans by President Donald Trump to allow a live stream, Hasan's execution is still set for December 3.

Amnesty International reported that about 15 countries still actively execute people, with the death penalty remaining on the books in 27 US states. However, executions are mainly concentrated in a few states, and over 20 states have abolished capital punishment entirely.