Gov. Newsom commutes all 548 death sentences in California to life without parole

Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom, whose term concludes in early 2027, announced Nov. 5 that he has commuted all death sentences in the state to life without the possibility of parole. 

“After nearly 30 years in public office, I have come to understand the limits of what government can justly accomplish,” Newsom said in the announcement. “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. I know we cannot execute people in our imperfect legal system and remain true to our core values, first among them justice and human decency.”

The decision spares 548 people on death row in California, which Newsom said is the largest death row in the Western Hemisphere.

Newsom, widely viewed as a potential 2028 presidential contender, explained that when he became governor in 2019, he instituted a moratorium on executions, formalizing the de facto moratorium on executions in place since 2006. California has not executed anyone since 2006, leaving all death sentences in place. 

Newsom said that the commutation decision is among the most difficult of his career, “not because I doubt its necessity for our state but because I know its announcement may surface excruciating memories for victims’ families.” 

“I deeply respect the views of those who will strongly disagree with my decision, including some families of victims who have suffered the worst possible loss,” Newsom added. “I hold this painful truth along with the belief that this is a righteous action. Today I am acting on my long and deeply held conviction that individually and collectively we are stronger as a society when we reject state-sanctioned killing.”

Arguing that the death penalty has not been — and cannot be — fairly applied, Newsom also said that “California’s system for administering the death penalty is a failure.” 

“Decades of efforts to repair the system have only compounded its stagnation,” he added. 

Newsom said he has listened to crime victims and survivors, public safety experts, religious leaders, civil rights leaders, prison wardens, jurors who served in capital cases, and parents and children of murder victims. He expressed gratitude for the counsel he has taken from these conversations, adding, “I will remember their voices long after I leave office.” 

Explaining his decision to commute every death sentence, Newsom noted that some have said he should not grant clemency to perpetrators of the “worst of the worst” crimes and that he considered different categories of capital crimes and offender characteristics. 

“I have learned, however, from speaking with the victims harmed by these crimes, that each experiences their loss as the worst of the worst,” he said. “I have concluded that attempting to distinguish among crimes and offenders for clemency would inadvertently create two classes of murder victims — those whose perpetrators deserve the death penalty and then the rest. I will therefore issue the same commutation to every condemned person — life without the possibility of parole, the most severe punishment I can lawfully impose and the state of California can ethically enforce. These offenders will die in prison but not by our hand.” 

Newsom noted that the commutation does not repeal the death penalty and acknowledged that Californians have voted to keep the death penalty, adding that such a repeal is determined by the legislature and voters. 

Concluding, Newsom said that many Californians from all political backgrounds see the death penalty as inconsistent with the state’s legal values and public safety goals, and then he acknowledged that his clemency decision “will anger and hurt some Californians,” saying that will always weigh on him. Ultimately, however, he stressed that his decision was one of conscience.  

“As Governor, I alone bear responsibility for this decision and its impact, just as I alone would bear responsibility for each execution,” he said. “For this reason, I am compelled to follow my conscience and, as authorized by our Constitution, take this action for the welfare of the State of California.”