California Gov. Gavin Newsom has reduced the sentences of 548 people on the state’s death row to life without parole, a sweeping use of clemency that marks one of the largest single actions against capital punishment in modern California history. The Newsom death row commutations come as the governor prepares to leave office in two months and as speculation continues about a possible presidential run.
Newsom announced the decision in an open letter Thursday, framing it as a rejection of executions as incompatible with the state’s values and with the integrity of its legal system. He acknowledged that the move could resurface painful memories for victims’ families, calling the decision among the hardest of his career.
Legal Limits and Court Review
State law restricts a governor’s power to issue blanket commutations to offenders with a single felony. Because of that limit, the California Supreme Court must approve the commutations for prisoners with multiple felonies. That review is expected to draw significant opposition.
Anne Marie Schubert, a former Sacramento district attorney who leads the victims rights group the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, told the New York Times she plans to sue Newsom. She argued that each case should be evaluated individually and that the governor exceeded his authority. Schubert also said the decision reopens losses for victims’ families who had found a measure of finality through the justice system.
A Moratorium and a Shrinking Death Row
Newsom imposed a moratorium on executions after taking office in 2019, though California has not carried out an execution in 20 years. Governor-elect Xavier Becerra, also a Democrat, has said he would keep the moratorium in place.
California still holds the largest death row in the Western hemisphere. Newsom’s action reduces the number of people on death row nationwide by roughly a quarter.
In his letter, Newsom wrote that some cases have been pending for four decades, and he suggested that resolving them could bring a form of closure to some families even as it stirs difficult emotions for others.
Victims’ Families Divided
Jess Nichol, whose sister Polly Klaas was killed in 1993 by Richard Allen Davis, issued a statement supporting the commutations. Davis remains on California’s death row. Nichol said she once believed her sister’s killer deserved execution but came to see that whether he is put to death has no bearing on her recovery or on public safety. She described the promise of execution as a distraction from what survivors actually need.
The announcement lands amid heightened national attention to capital punishment. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump announced plans to restore the firing squad for federal executions. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also said the execution of Nidal Hasan, the Fort Hood shooter, would be livestreamed in December, but Trump quickly retreated from that idea after opposition emerged.
