Newsom Seeks to End Death Sentences for 548 Californians
Newsom has asked the California Supreme Court to approve commuting the sentences of 548 people on death row, replacing capital punishment with life in prison without parole. He can change about 40% of the sentences himself; the rest require the court’s approval. The action would be the largest clearing of a U.S. death row in modern history.
California has not carried out an execution since 2006, though death sentences have remained in place. The state’s last execution was in 2006, and it has spent more than $200 million annually on automatic death penalty appeals and related petitions, according to a 2025 state report. Newsom argues the system is costly, discriminatory and incompatible with justice.
Newsom imposed a moratorium on executions in 2019 and later removed the death chamber at San Quentin. He says he respects voters’ decision to keep capital punishment on the books, but is using the clemency power granted to governors. The commutations would not repeal the death penalty, so California could continue to sentence people to death in future cases.
The decision comes near the end of Newsom’s governorship as he considers a 2028 presidential run. Support for capital punishment has declined, but a national poll in August found about two-thirds of Americans favored it for people convicted of murder. The move may appeal to Democratic voters while creating political risks among voters who support the punishment.
Newsom Takes Historic Step to End California’s Death Sentences
California’s death row is set to be cleared without another execution, as Gov. Gavin Newsom moves to replace all 548 death sentences with life without parole. The state Supreme Court must approve nearly 60% of the commutations, making the court’s decision the next step in a sweeping use of executive clemency.
Newsom argues that a system which costs California more than $200 million a year in appeals, while carrying out no execution since 2006, cannot be justified as effective justice. He has also condemned capital punishment as discriminatory and incompatible with the state’s values. The commutations would spare prisoners from execution, but would not erase their convictions or release them from prison.
The action follows Newsom’s 2019 execution moratorium and removal of San Quentin’s death chamber. It answers the failures of a punishment system that opponents say is cruel, expensive and applied unequally. Voters have kept the death penalty on California’s books, but Newsom says a governor’s clemency authority exists precisely when applying the law conflicts with justice.
The step carries political risk as Newsom considers a 2028 presidential campaign: national support for the death penalty remains substantial. But refusing to confront a flawed system because of that pressure would put electoral calculation ahead of human decency. The state can still impose death sentences under existing law, so the commutations do not end capital punishment in California.
Newsom Overrides California Voters on Death Penalty
Gov. Gavin Newsom is using his clemency power to neutralize the death sentences of 548 Californians, even though voters have chosen to keep capital punishment in state law. Nearly 60% of the commutations require approval from the California Supreme Court. The decision will ensure the affected prisoners cannot be executed under future administrations.
California has not executed anyone since 2006, and its death penalty costs more than $200 million annually in appeals and related proceedings. Those expenses deserve scrutiny. But Newsom’s answer is to substitute his judgment for the punishment imposed through the state’s legal process, rather than change the law or seek a new vote. California will still be able to sentence people to death in future cases.
Newsom says capital punishment conflicts with justice, and his 2019 moratorium and dismantling of San Quentin’s death chamber made his opposition clear. Yet the commutations come at the end of his governorship, as he considers a 2028 presidential bid. The political contrast is plain: the move may strengthen his appeal to Democratic voters, while about two-thirds of Americans in an August poll supported the death penalty for people convicted of murder.
A governor’s power to grant clemency does not settle whether the state should retain capital punishment. Voters have kept it on the books, and their decision deserves more than a sweeping end-run. The court now has a role in approving most of Newsom’s action.
Reported by Los Angeles Times, The Guardian US, CalMatters, The Philadelphia Inquirer, New York Post, Daily Mail US, WTOP, NBC News, Denver7, CNN, BBC US & Canada, CBS San Francisco.
