What to Know About Gavin Newsom’s Historic Commutation of All California Death Sentences

California Governor Gavin Newsom has taken unprecedented action by commuting the death sentences of all 548 individuals currently on death row in the state. This historic move, announced on Thursday, marks the largest mass commutation of death sentences in U.S. history and is expected to impact a quarter of all death sentences in the country. Newsom, a Democrat, wrote in an open letter that he is acting on his conviction that rejecting state-sanctioned killing leads to a stronger society.

California holds the largest number of people on death row in the U.S. and the western hemisphere. Newsom's action follows a moratorium on executions that has been in place since he first became governor in 2019. The move will be among Newsom's final actions before he leaves office in January, with his expected presidential run in 2028 potentially impacted by the decision.

Death penalty opponents welcomed the commutation, arguing that it is a significant step towards abolishing the death penalty. Supporters of the death penalty, including victims' families, criticized the action, contending that it disregards individual judgments and the feelings of victims' families. The last execution in California took place in 2006 under Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The governor's decision to commute the death sentences is rooted in his long-held belief that capital punishment is incompatible with a fair legal system and has led to wrongful convictions. In California, at least 203 people have been exonerated since 1973, with eight of them in the state. Black people, despite making up only 6% of California's population, accounted for a third of the death row population.

Newsom has previously dismantled the execution chamber at San Quentin in 2019, transferred death row inmates to the general population in other secure prisons, and converted the facility into a rehabilitation center. He has also argued that the administration of the death penalty has been unequal, with racial disparities in who faces capital punishment, is sentenced to death, and is executed.