California governor seeks commutation of all 548 death row inmates to life sentences

California Governor Gavin Newsom announced on the 5th (local time) that he plans to commute the sentences of all 548 death row inmates in the state to life without parole.

If Governor Newsom completes the commutation, it will be recorded as the largest mass commutation of death row inmates in U.S. history, and the total number of death row inmates in the U.S. will be reduced by more than a quarter.

According to Axios, Governor Newsom explained the reason for his decision to commute the sentence in a letter to residents that day, saying, "Under our imperfect judicial system, we cannot uphold the core values ​​of justice and human dignity while executing the death penalty."

“Many Californians believe that those who commit atrocious crimes deserve to die,” he said, “but the governor has concluded that the state cannot morally execute them.”

At the same time, he said, "By reducing the sentences, we can allow the victims to forever remember and commemorate the victims while allowing the criminals to die forgotten by the world," and added, "This decision is one of the most difficult decisions of my career."

However, legal procedures remain before the sentences of all death row inmates are commuted.

According to the California Constitution, the state Supreme Court must approve any commutation of the sentence of a death row inmate who has been convicted of two or more felonies.

According to the Associated Press, 382 people, or about 70% of the total 548 death row inmates, fall into this category.

Axios pointed out that this decision came just a few months before the end of Governor Newsom's term, with the possibility of running for president in 2028 being discussed.

Governor Newsom decided to suspend executions immediately after taking office in 2019, halting the execution of 737 death row inmates at the time.

Controversy surrounding the death penalty is intensifying across the United States, as the recent failed execution of a female death row inmate, Krista Pike, by lethal injection in Tennessee, and with U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth calling for a public execution.

Even before Governor Newsom, there were cases in which Democratic politicians implemented large-scale commutations of death row inmates.

Former North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper commuted the sentences of 15 death row inmates in 2024, and former President Joe Biden also commuted the sentences of 37 federal death row inmates in the same year.

California has not carried out an execution since 2006, but the death penalty remains legal. Referendums to abolish the death penalty were also rejected in both 2012 and 2016.