Newsom Moves to Commute All 548 California Death Sentences to Life Without Parole

California Governor Gavin Newsom announced he will commute the sentences of all 548 people on the state's death row to life without the possibility of parole.

Newsom, whose term ends in January, wrote in an open letter that state-sanctioned killing is incompatible with California's values. He instituted a moratorium on executions in 2019. The state last carried out an execution in 2006. Only 13 inmates have been executed since voters reinstated the death penalty in 1978.

California holds the largest death row in the Western Hemisphere. Newsom can commute about 40 percent of the sentences directly. The rest, involving people convicted of more than one felony, require a recommendation from the California Supreme Court. He asked the court to act by the end of the year so the commutations can take effect before he leaves office. Four of seven justices must concur.

The Death Penalty Information Center described the action as the largest mass clemency in U.S. history. Nationwide, about 440 people on death row have received commutations since 1972. If approved, the move would reduce the national death-row population by nearly a third.

Newsom said the affected prisoners will not become eligible for parole or for new Board of Parole Hearings rules that could shorten sentences. He consulted survivors, victims' families, prison officials and jurors. Some victims' relatives welcomed the decision. Others, including the father of Polly Klaas, condemned it.

The action is largely symbolic in a state that has not executed anyone for two decades, yet it ends the formal status of death row. Newsom has not declared a 2028 presidential run, but the timing has drawn attention to his national profile. The Supreme Court review will determine how many of the 548 sentences actually change before January 3, 2027.