California Gov. Gavin Newsom to commute all death sentences in state

California Governor Gavin Newsom announced this week that he will change the sentences of hundreds of prisoners on death row.

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Newsom said he is commuting the death sentences of 548 prisoners and will make the sentences life in prison without parole, The Associated Press reported. While he declared it, the final say on hundreds will rest with the state Supreme Court.

The New York Times said it was the largest mass commutation of death sentences in modern American history. The state also has the largest death row, with Newsom’s move potentially doing away with about a quarter of the nation’s death sentences.

The state’s constitution requires the state high court to approve clemency for anyone convicted of a felony more than once. That law covers 382 convictions, or about 70% of the total.

“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,” the governor said in a statement.

He called the decision one of his most difficult in his career.

“As Governor, I alone bear responsibility for this decision and its impact, just as I alone would bear responsibility for each execution,” Newsom wrote.

He is getting ready to leave office after eight years. Newsom has publicly opposed the death penalty and stopped executions in 2019, the AP said.

The state voted on abolishing the death penalty in 2012 and 2016, but Californians voted to uphold it, despite not having any executions since 2006.

The American Civil Liberties Union agreed with the move.

“These commutations reflect what justice demands: an end to a racist, error-prone, and inhumane punishment that has burdened California for far too long,” Executive Director Anthony Romero said in a statement.

But prosecutors and victims’ groups do not.

“My heart hurts for every one of the victims and every one of their family members,” Patricia Wenskunas, founder of Crime Survivors, said. She called Newsom’s decision “offensive” and “outrageous.”

Steve Herr, father of a murder victim, said he was “absolutely disgusted” by the announcement.

“When somebody commits such a heinous crime, they do not deserve to live,” Herr said. “To hear what Newsom just did … he’s just an outright coward.”

The commutations may be challenged in court, saying that he violated the law with the blanket ruling, adding that each case needs to be considered individually.

Newsom’s announcement came on the same day that Florida, Alabama and Indiana carried out executions, according to The New York Times.