Gavin Newsom moves to commute every death row inmate in California

Commuting a death sentence changes the punishment to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

California Governor Gavin Newsom has commuted the death sentences of more than 500 prisoners in a historic political move as he prepares to leave office after eight years.

The decision was shared in a letter, first reported by The Sacremento Bee. In his messaging, the veteran politician relayed the extensive reasoning behind his choice. In California, commuting a person on death row automatically updates their sentence to life without parole. Addditonally, as The Bee reported, Newsom can commute single-felony sentences, but must receive the California Supreme Court’s approval to commute sentences for people with multiple convictions.

“After nearly 30 years in public office, I have come to understand the limits of what government can justly accomplish,” Newsom wrote in the letter. “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.”

He continued, “Many Californians feel that those who commit brutal crimes deserve to die. But as governor, I have concluded the state cannot morally kill them. I do, however, pray that this action will finally separate the memories of the victims of these crimes from the fate of those who harmed them.”

According to The Marshall Project, Newsom called the state’s death penalty system a failure and issued an executive order halting executions. A California governor has not granted clemency to a person on death row since Ronald Reagan in 1967, and since 1977 more than 1,000 people were sentenced to death, but state officials carried out only 13 executions.

Newsom, who was elected in 2018, completes the limits of his term as governor in January. The Democratic Party member has not officially declared a 2028 presidential run, however he has acknowledged that he may consider a campaign for the White House.