California Gov. Gavin Newsom cleared out the nation’s largest death row on Thursday, announcing his intention to commute every death sentence in the state, erase their possible executions but leave them in prison for life without the chance of parole.
The Democrat, who leaves office at the end of this year and has been angling for his party’s 2028 presidential nomination, previously had a moratorium on executions. But he wanted something firmer before the end of his term.
“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 said in an open letter to his state.
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He acknowledged “indescribable suffering” the death row inmates had wrought on Californians. But he said the state “cannot morally kill them,” and he cast their lives wasting away in prison as a better outcome.
“We can now let these offenders die in obscurity while we forever remember and honor their victims,” he said.
The move seems designed to draw a contrast with President Trump, whose administration next month will carry out a firing-squad execution of Nidal Hasan, convicted of the shooting massacre at Fort Hood in Texas in 2009.
Mr. Trump has allowed the execution to go forward, though he has put the kibosh on the idea of broadcasting it live.
Mr. Newsom has unilateral power to commute sentences of those who have only the capital crime on their record. Under the state’s Constitution, those with additional felonies must have their commutations reviewed by the California Supreme Court.
California leads the country in death row inmates with 578, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
Nationwide, 2,100 inmates face execution.
Just seven are federal or military inmates.
Mr. Newsom said he considered trying to separate out the “worst of the worst” offenders and leave their penalty intact.
But after speaking to victims, he found they all considered their case deserving the most severe penalties. So instead of having a two-tier class of murder victims, he decided to commute them all.
He said the decision will bring “finality” but not necessarily “closure” to victims.
California has seen repeated efforts to repeal its death penalty, including in 2016, when Proposition 62 was defeated 53% to 47%.
It’s one of 27 states that still have the death penalty.
The American Civil Liberties Union, a fervent opponent of the death penalty, hailed the governor’s action, saying he “made history.”
“These commutations reflect what justice demands: an end to a racist, error-prone, and inhumane punishment that has burdened California for far too long,” said Anthony Romero, the ACLU’s executive director.
Mr. Newsom’s action instantly becomes an issue for fellow Democrats in the 2028 race.
Illinois, where Gov. J.B. Pritzker is considered a White House hopeful, doesn’t have the death penalty. Pennsylvania does, but Gov. Josh Shapiro has imposed a moratorium and called for the state Assembly to abolish executions.
A botched execution in Tennessee in September also drew scrutiny. Christa Pike was rendered unconscious but survived the September attempt at lethal injection.
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