California death row cleared: Newsom commutes all 548 sentences in largest US clemency

California Governor Gavin Newsom has commuted every sentence on California death row, converting the death sentences of 548 people to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Described by Al Jazeera and the Death Penalty Information Center as the largest mass clemency in US history, the move came on Thursday as Newsom’s final term winds down.

What Newsom announced

In an open letter, Newsom said he was using his constitutional clemency powers because “state-sanctioned killing is incompatible with California’s values, undermines the foundations of our legal system, and diminishes each of us.” The Guardian reported that the decision covers 529 men and 19 women, making up the largest death row in the western hemisphere.

He called the decision difficult but a “righteous action”, acknowledged it may reopen “excruciating memories for victims’ families”, and said he alone bears responsibility for it. Life without parole, he argued, is the harshest punishment the state can ethically enforce. He also described California’s system as a failure that “has not and cannot be fairly applied”, and said it has led to the conviction of innocent people.

A largely symbolic move with real consequences

California has not carried out an execution since 2006, and only 13 people have been put to death since voters restored capital punishment in 1978. Newsom imposed a moratorium in 2019. The BBC described the commutations as largely symbolic for that reason, but the Guardian noted the practical effect: the sentences can no longer be revived by a future governor.

The cost of maintaining the system is a recurring theme. The Death Penalty Information Center says California has spent $6bn on capital punishment since 1978. Experts quoted by the BBC said ending it could save millions of dollars in court costs every year.

Newsom’s office also highlighted delays in the system. Of the 548 people sentenced to death, 220 had waited 15 years or more for an appointed habeas lawyer, and 139 had waited 20 years or more. Without the moratorium, 45 people would be considered to have exhausted their appeals and would face immediate execution risk, according to the governor’s office.

Court review still to come

The commutations are not entirely final. Under California’s constitution, the state Supreme Court must review clemency for anyone with multiple felony convictions. The Death Penalty Information Center estimates this applies to about two-thirds of the cases. The BBC, citing CalMatters, reported that at least four of the court’s seven justices must sign off. How the court will handle the volume of reviews, and how long it will take, was not clear from the reports.

Reaction and the national picture

The American Civil Liberties Union called the commutations an end to a “racist, error-prone, and inhumane punishment.” Other supporters included Martin Luther King III and death penalty lawyer Bryan Stevenson. Jeanne Woodford, a former state prisons director who oversaw four executions, said she is “haunted by the fear that we will execute an innocent person.”

The Guardian also reported support from a relative of a murder victim, who said she once backed the execution of the man who killed her sister but changed her mind over time. The BBC spoke to the mother of one man affected, who maintains his innocence. She said the news brought mixed emotions, but that at least the execution chamber would not be rebuilt.

The Death Penalty Information Center says the decision will cut the national death row population by nearly 30 percent. It arrives while public opinion remains divided. A Pew survey in August found 66 percent of Americans support the death penalty for murder, yet roughly 73 percent acknowledged a risk of executing an innocent person. The DPIC says at least 203 people sentenced to death in the US since 1973 have later been exonerated.

Timing and politics

The announcement follows the failed execution of Christa Pike in Tennessee in late September, which prompted international criticism and renewed calls for a national pause. Executions are also rising elsewhere in the US, with three scheduled for Thursday in Indiana, Florida and Alabama, and the Trump administration has pledged to expand federal executions.

Newsom, who is term-limited, leaves office in January 2027. Xavier Becerra is due to succeed him on 4 January. Newsom is widely seen as a possible 2028 presidential candidate. Columbia law professor Bernard Harcourt told the BBC that an abolitionist stance ahead of a presidential run is not unprecedented, citing François Mitterrand in France in 1981, and suggested voters may respect it. Whether American voters see it the same way is untested.

For now, the future of California death row rests with the state Supreme Court, which must decide whether Newsom’s clemency stands for those with multiple felony convictions.

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