Newsom Commutes All 548 California Death Sentences to Life Without Parole

California Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Thursday that he will commute the death sentences of all 548 people on the state’s death row to life in prison without the possibility of parole, in what would be the largest mass commutation in American history.

The move covers 529 men and 19 women, according to figures from the governor’s office. But most of the commutations cannot take effect on Newsom’s signature alone: 382 of the 548 cases — roughly 70 per cent — require approval from the California Supreme Court before they become final.

A court still holds the final say in most cases

Under the California Constitution, a governor cannot grant clemency to a person convicted of a felony more than once without a recommendation from the state Supreme Court, backed by at least four justices. Newsom’s office said that rule applies to 382 of the cases in this action.

For the remaining cases, the commutations take effect immediately. The full legal effect of the move depends on the completion of the individual executive acts for each case, and on the court’s decisions where approval is required.

Why Newsom acted in his final months

Newsom, who is barred by term limits from seeking another term, leaves office in January after eight years as governor. The Associated Press reported that he is considering a run for president. In an open letter to Californians, he wrote: “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.”

Newsom imposed a moratorium on executions in 2019, shortly after taking office, but hundreds of people remained under sentence of death. In the same letter, he said of the condemned prisoners: “These offenders will die in prison but not by our hand.”

The action does not abolish the death penalty in California. Prosecutors can still seek death sentences in future cases, and the power to repeal the punishment rests with the Legislature and the voters. MyNewsLA reported that Newsom will be succeeded by governor-elect Xavier Becerra when he steps down on 4 January.

California’s death row, by the numbers

California holds the largest death row in the Western Hemisphere, with 548 people under sentence of death. The state has not executed anyone since 17 January 2006, and only 13 people have been executed since voters reinstated the death penalty in 1978. California voters rejected a ballot measure in 2016 that would have repealed the punishment.

If the Supreme Court approves the remaining cases, the commutation would dwarf the previous record. In 2003, Illinois Governor George Ryan commuted 167 death sentences, then the largest such act in modern American history.

The contrast with the rest of the country is stark. Elsewhere in the United States, the death penalty remains in active use: three executions in one day were carried out in Indiana, Florida and Alabama, in separate cases that drew national attention.

Reaction and what happens next

The Catholic Mobilizing Network, a Washington-based group that campaigns to end the death penalty, described the step as the largest commutation in history and a witness for life rooted in mercy, not retribution.

For the 548 people covered by the announcement, the next step is the court’s review. Until the justices act on the 382 cases requiring approval, those commutations remain provisional. The court’s decisions in the coming months will determine whether the commutation stands in full.