Newsom to Commute All 548 California Death Sentences in Largest U.S. Mass Clemency

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Nov. 5 (TodayViralUSA) — Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday he will commute the death sentences of all 548 people on California’s death row to life in prison without the possibility of parole, the largest mass clemency in U.S. history.

“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 all of us,” Newsom wrote in an open letter to Californians as he prepares to leave office after eight years.

Largest death row emptied in one stroke

California has not executed anyone in more than 20 years and has maintained the nation’s largest condemned population. By commuting 548 sentences, Newsom would cut the U.S. death-row population by nearly 30%, leaving about 1,388 people under sentence of death nationwide — the lowest total since 1984, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

Newsom imposed a moratorium on executions in 2019, citing racial bias, high costs and the risk of irreversible error. California has spent an estimated $6 billion on the death penalty since it was reinstated in 1978 while carrying out just 13 executions. Los Angeles County alone sentenced hundreds of people to death; about 174 of them were still on death row at the time of the announcement.

Court review required for most cases

State law requires the California Supreme Court to review clemency for people with multiple felony convictions. Newsom’s grant would take effect immediately for roughly one-third of those on death row; the remaining two-thirds need court approval before their commutations become final, the Death Penalty Information Center reported.

Supporters included a coalition of victims’ families, prosecutors, faith leaders and civil-rights advocates. Jess Nichol, whose sister Polly Klaas was murdered by one of the people covered by the clemency, said she once supported the death penalty but no longer believes execution aids survivors’ healing. Critics among victims’ rights groups condemned the decision.

California voters have rejected ballot measures to abolish capital punishment, and only a new referendum can repeal it. Newsom’s move empties death row as a practical matter while leaving the statute on the books.