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California Governor Newsom announced that 548 death row inmates across the state will be commuted to life in prison without parole, the largest mass commutation in modern U.S. history and sparking a fierce dispute between prosecutors and victims’ families.
California GovernorNewsom (Gavin Newsom) announced on the 5th that he would exercise the pardon power granted by the California State Constitution and pardon all 548 people in California.death penalty The prisoner’s sentence was commuted to life in prison without parole, making it the largest mass commutation of a death sentence in modern American history.
In an open letter to Californians, Newsom said, “I have decided to exercise my constitutional right of clemency and commute all death sentences in California to life in prison without parole.”
Newsom said this is a result of his nearly 30 years as an elected official and his consistent public opposition to state executions. “I firmly believe that state-sanctioned killings are inconsistent with California’s values, undermine the foundation of the law and offend each of us.”
Of the 548 death row inmates, 529 are men and 19 are women, the Associated Press reported, citing data from Newsom’s office.
According to the California Constitution, pardons of people who have been convicted of a felony more than twice must be approved by the California Supreme Court. Therefore, the court will have to approve 382 of them, which is about 70%. The New York Times reported that some cases must be reviewed by the California Supreme Court and could lead to legal challenges.
California has the highest number of death row inmates in the United States, and Newsom’s decision is equivalent to canceling approximately 25% of death sentences in the United States. California has not carried out the death penalty for 20 years, and Newsom announced a moratorium on executions in 2019.
Newsom said it was one of the most difficult decisions of his career because it would inevitably bring back painful memories for the victims’ families.
He wrote, “As Governor, this decision and its consequences rest entirely on me, just as the authority for every execution rests on me.”
Opposition to Newsom’s commutation immediately surfaced, with California District Attorneys Association President Jeanine Pacioni warning, “Writing down all sentences at once does not take into account the facts of the individual case or affected family members, and seriously harms the administration of justice.”
San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow called Newsom’s move a “disgusting abuse of power,” and Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer also publicly condemned it.
Former Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Schubert wrote to Newsom, attaching photographs of the victim and details of the killer’s crimes, saying that the victim’s family had basically gotten some closure from justice, but now everything has reopened.
The families of the victims have differing opinions on Newsom’s move. Polly, a victim in the case of death row inmate Richard Davis, Polly’s classy sibling Jessie. Jess Nicole said she changed her mind. Nicholl said, “The system tells survivors that executions are important for us to heal, but it’s not. It just distracts us from what’s really needed.”
