Gavin Newsom said on Thursday he will commute the sentences of all 548 people on California’s death row to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
By the numbers: California holds 548 people under sentence of death, which Newsom’s open letter calls the largest death row in the Western Hemisphere, and the state last carried out an execution in 2006.
The backstory: Newsom imposed a moratorium on executions on March 13, 2019, shortly after taking office, which stopped executions while leaving every death sentence in place.
- Some of the capital cases now being closed have been moving through the courts for more than 40 years.
What they're saying: "Many Californians feel that those who commit brutal crimes deserve to die," Newsom wrote. "But as Governor, I have concluded the state cannot morally kill them."
The other side: Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said he is "heartbroken for the hundreds of families who must now grapple with the devastation of knowing that the monsters who harmed their loved ones are one step closer to being back out on our streets."
Yes, but: The action leaves the death penalty on the books, prosecutors can still seek it, and the California Supreme Court must review clemency for anyone convicted of more than one felony.
Why it matters: California voters rejected repeal in 2012 and again in 2016, so one governor’s clemency decision undoes an outcome the electorate chose twice at the ballot box.
