California Governor Gavin Newsom has commuted the sentences of all 548 people on the state's death row, converting each to life in prison without the possibility of parole — the largest mass clemency in United States history. [2] The announcement, made Thursday, reduces the national death row population by nearly 30 percent in a single stroke. [2]
"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," Newsom wrote in an open letter. [1]
A Symbolic but Consequential Move
California has not executed a prisoner since 2006, and only 13 inmates have been put to death since voters reinstated the death penalty in 1978. [1] In that same period, the state has spent $6 billion on capital punishment infrastructure and litigation, according to the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC). [2] Experts say the mass commutation could save millions of dollars annually in court costs. [1]
Newsom had previously imposed a moratorium on executions in 2019. [1] Robin Maher, executive director of the DPIC, described Thursday's announcement as a watershed: "By bookending his time as governor first with a moratorium and now this mass clemency, Governor Newsom has irrevocably changed California's relationship with the death penalty." [2]
Life without parole is the most severe punishment Newsom can lawfully impose, and he framed the decision as both a constitutional exercise of clemency authority and a matter of personal conscience. "As governor, I alone bear responsibility for this decision and its impact, just as I alone would bear responsibility for each execution," he wrote. [1]
Legal Hurdles Remain
The commutations are not yet final for all 548 inmates. Under California state law, roughly two-thirds of the cases must be reviewed by the California Supreme Court — specifically those involving individuals with multiple felony convictions — before the clemency takes effect. [2] At least four of the court's seven justices must sign off on those cases. [1]
The legal complexity is illustrated by cases like that of Keith Doolin, 53, sentenced to death in 1996 for the murders of two women and the shooting of four others, who maintains his innocence. [1] His mother, Donna Larsen, told the BBC the news brought mixed emotions: "At least the execution chamber will not be reconstructed, and no more killing by the people of the state of California." [1]
Praise, Pushback, and Political Context
Criminal justice advocates were swift to applaud the move. Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, called the commutations a reflection of "what justice demands: an end to a racist, error-prone, and inhumane punishment that has burdened California for far too long." [1]
Critics, however, pointed to the limits of executive power. Los Angeles County's top prosecutor, Nathan Hochman, noted that Californians have twice rejected ballot initiatives to abolish the death penalty outright, and that only the state legislature or voters — not the governor — can eliminate the punishment entirely. [1]
The decision arrives in a charged national context. The DPIC reports that at least 203 people wrongly convicted and sentenced to death in the United States have been exonerated since 1973. [2] A Pew Research Center poll released in August found that 66 percent of Americans support the death penalty for those convicted of murder, though roughly 73 percent also acknowledged the risk of executing an innocent person. [2] Executions have been on the rise nationally, with three scheduled for the same Thursday as Newsom's announcement — in Indiana, Florida, and Alabama. [1]
At the federal level, President Donald Trump has championed capital punishment as "an essential tool for deterring and punishing those who would commit the most heinous crimes." [1] His administration pledged in April to expand federal executions, including through the use of firing squads. [2]
The Presidential Calculus
Newsom is term-limited and will leave office in January 2027, to be succeeded by fellow Democrat Xavier Becerra. [1] He has been widely discussed as a potential 2028 presidential contender, and the timing of Thursday's announcement — days after a strong Democratic showing in the midterm elections — has drawn scrutiny. [2]
Bernard Harcourt, a law and civil liberties professor at Columbia University, drew a historical parallel, noting that French President François Mitterrand ran on an abolitionist platform in 1981 and "took the higher ethical ground and was rewarded by the public for that." Harcourt told the BBC: "I detect a very similar ethical positioning in Governor Newsom's statements about the commutations. And here too, it may well be something that the voters respect." [1]
It is worth noting that Harcourt's reading of Newsom's political motivations is analytical interpretation, not established fact.
Newsom's record on criminal justice is not without contradictions. In 2022, he vetoed a bill that would have limited the use of solitary confinement in state prisons — a practice the United Nations has defined as torture after certain durations. [2] He also vetoed a 2019 measure that would have restricted cooperation between Immigration and Customs Enforcement and prison authorities. [2]
What to Watch Next
The California Supreme Court's review of the roughly two-thirds of commutations requiring judicial sign-off will be the immediate legal flashpoint. Advocates will watch whether any justices block individual cases, and whether the legislature moves to formally abolish the death penalty — something Newsom's executive action cannot accomplish alone. Nationally, the decision is likely to intensify the debate over capital punishment as the 2028 presidential race begins to take shape.
