SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday, Nov. 5, announced he will commute the death sentences of all 548 people on California's death row to life without the possibility of parole, the largest mass clemency of its kind in U.S. history according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Prosecutors and victims' groups reacted with fury, and a legal fight is already taking shape.

Key Takeaways

• The decision: Newsom is commuting every California death sentence, 529 men and 19 women according to his office, to life without parole.
• Not final yet: The state constitution requires California Supreme Court approval for clemency for people with more than one felony conviction, which Newsom's office says covers 382 of the commutations, about 70 percent.
• The backlash: District attorneys and victims' advocates condemned the move, and the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation has pledged to challenge it before the state Supreme Court.
• What happens next: Newsom leaves office at the end of the year, and incoming Gov. Xavier Becerra has said he will extend the execution moratorium.

Newsom's Letter to Californians

In a letter addressed to all Californians, Newsom said "state-sanctioned killing is incompatible with California's values." He wrote that "after nearly 30 years in public office, I have come to understand the limits of what government can justly accomplish," and that "finality is not closure." He called the decision among the most difficult of his career and said he alone bears responsibility for it.

Newsom said he considered commuting only some sentences but rejected that approach, reasoning that it would create two classes of murder victims, according to CalMatters. "These offenders will die in prison but not by our hand," the governor said.

California has the largest death row in the country, holding more than a quarter of the nation's condemned prisoners, CalMatters reported. The Death Penalty Information Center says that if all of the commutations take effect, they would cut the U.S. death row population by nearly 30 percent.

Who Is Affected

CalMatters named among those on death row Richard Allen Davis, convicted of the 1993 kidnapping and killing of 12-year-old Polly Klaas, and Charles Ng, convicted of killing 11 people in the Sierra Nevada foothills in the 1980s. CalMatters reported that Davis's case is among those Newsom is submitting to the state Supreme Court. Those whose sentences are commuted will not be eligible for the state's new commutation and resentencing regulations through the Board of Parole Hearings, a provision that addresses concerns they could later be released.

The last California executions were those of Stanley "Tookie" Williams in 2005 and Clarence Ray Allen in 2006. Newsom imposed a moratorium on executions in 2019, shortly after taking office, and dismantled the San Quentin execution chamber. That came just three years after voters rejected a ballot measure to abolish the death penalty and instead approved one to speed up executions.

Victims' Families and Prosecutors Push Back

San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe told KTVU he was "disgusted" and called the move undemocratic. The California District Attorneys Association had sent Newsom a letter last month voicing "grave concerns." Its president, Jeannine Pacioni, said erasing jury judgments "with the stroke of a pen" would be a "profound disservice."

Crime Victims United president Topo Padilla said the governor should not undo a jury's sentence because of personal beliefs. Patricia Wenskunas, founder of Crime Survivors, called the decision "offensive" and "outrageous." Anne Marie Schubert, a former prosecutor who now leads the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, called it "atrocious" and said victims' families were not notified, adding that her group will challenge the commutations in the California Supreme Court.

Marc Klaas, Polly Klaas's father, said before the decision that the prospect "upsets me terribly." Polly's sister, Jess Nichol, said in a statement that an execution would not help her healing.

Supporters include the ACLU, whose leader Anthony Romero praised the decision. The ACLU is separately involved in a challenge that argues California's death penalty statute is racially discriminatory and unconstitutional.

The Legal Road Ahead

The governor can commute sentences, but for anyone with more than one felony conviction the state constitution requires approval from the California Supreme Court. CalMatters reported that roughly 400 prisoners fall into that category and that four of seven justices must sign off; Newsom's office puts the number at 382, or about 70 percent. Until the court acts, those commutations are not final.

Newsom is also deciding whether to run for president and leaves office at year's end. Gov.-elect Xavier Becerra takes office in January and has said he will extend the moratorium on executions. Other governors have acted on a smaller scale: Oregon's Kate Brown commuted its death row in 2022, Colorado's Jared Polis did so in 2020, and President Joe Biden commuted 37 of 40 federal death sentences in 2024.

What It Means for Americans

The move reopens one of the most emotional debates in American politics just as Newsom positions himself for a possible national run. Supporters see a morally consistent end to a system that has not carried out an execution in two decades; opponents see a governor overruling juries and ignoring victims. How the California Supreme Court handles the roughly 70 percent of cases that need its approval will determine how final the decision becomes. USA Herald will follow the legal challenges as they are filed.