California Gov. Gavin Newsom has moved to grant clemency to all 548 people on death row in the state, marking the largest mass commutation of death sentences in U.S. history.
asserted
Newsom → move → history
In an open letter to Californians on Thursday, Newsom said he would commute the sentence of every death row inmate to life in prison without the possibility of parole—“the most severe punishment I can lawfully impose and the state of California can ethically enforce.”
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state → say → California
“Today I am acting on my long and deeply held conviction that individually and collectively we are stronger as a society when we reject state-sanctioned killing,” Newsom, a Democrat, wrote.
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Newsom → act → killing
California holds the largest number of people on death row in the U.S. and the western hemisphere.
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California → hold → U.S.
Newsom’s action, if fully enforced, would commute a quarter of all death sentences in the country.
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action → enforce → country
It takes a step beyond the moratorium that has been in place since Newsom first became governor in 2019.
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Newsom → take → 2019
Newsom’s successor, Democrat Xavier Becerra, has also committed to a stay on carrying out executions.
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successor → commit → executions
Opponents to the death penalty welcomed the move, arguing that it is consequential to the broader movement to abolish the death penalty.
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it → welcome → penalty
Supporters of the death penalty, including some groups representing victims of crime and their families, have argued that the action disregards individual judgments reached by courts and the feelings of victims’ families.
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action → include → families
The state last executed a person in 2006 under the governorship of Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger.
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state → execute → Schwarzenegger
The move will be among Newsom’s final actions before he leaves office in January.
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he → leave → January
He is expected to announce a 2028 presidential run, which some argue Thursday’s action could impact, for better or for worse.
uncertain
action → expect → run
The question of capital punishment has received heightened scrutiny in the U.S. since Tennessee botched the execution of Christa Pike at the end of September, which led her to be hospitalized for days before returning to prison.
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her → receive → prison
On Thursday, Alabama, Florida, and Indiana carried out executions by lethal injection.
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Alabama → carry → injection
And the planned military execution of Nidal Hasan at Fort Hood also drew national attention after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in October that the execution would be live-streamed.
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execution → plan → October
President Donald Trump has since scrapped that live-streaming plan, but the military execution by firing squad is still planned for December.
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execution → scrap → December
‘Incompatible’ with justice
A Catholic who has long opposed the death penalty on moral grounds, Newsom said Thursday that the state’s system for administering the death penalty cannot be applied fairly and has resulted in wrongful convictions.
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system → oppose → convictions
“Because the death penalty is inherently incompatible with our legal system’s commitment to justice, I have determined that this clemency decision, while difficult in many respects, will ultimately affirm the strength and integrity of our state and its justice system,” he wrote.
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he → determine → state
Newsom has taken actions against the death penalty before.
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Newsom → take → penalty
He dismantled the execution chamber at San Quentin in 2019 and the next year began transferring its death row inmates into the general population at other secure prisons where they had more access to work and restitution opportunities while remaining under death sentences.
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they → dismantle → sentences
Newsom later converted the facility into a rehabilitation center, and in February, he opened a new Learning Center expanding education, training, and reentry services.
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he → convert → education
On an episode of Newsom’s podcast last month that featured Equal Justice Initiative director Bryan Stevenson, the governor described the question of whether or not to grant universal clemency as a test of his conscience.
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governor → feature → conscience
The governor has long argued that the administration of the death penalty has been unequal.
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administration → argue → penalty
After announcing the moratorium on executions in 2019, Newsom said in an interview that he was responsible for addressing “a race-based system.
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he → announce → system
The fact is, you’re better off in this country to be rich and guilty than if you’re poor and innocent.”
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you → ’re → country
According to the nonpartisan Death Penalty Information Center, at least 203 people on death row across 30 states have been exonerated based on evidence of innocence since 1973.
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people → accord → 1973
That includes eight people in California.
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That → include → California
Elisabeth Semel, a professor of law at U.C. Berkeley and co-director of the Death Penalty Clinic at the university, tells TIME there exist “racial disparities in who faces capital punishment, who is sentenced to death, and who is executed” that trace back to the country’s history of slavery, segregation, and lynching.
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that → tell → slavery
Black people accounted for a third of California’s death row population, despite making up around 6% of the state’s overall population, according to Judicial Council budget materials from May.
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people → account → May
Of those exonerated nationwide since 1973, 65% were people of color and more than half were Black.
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half → exonerate → color
A 2017 analysis by the National Registry of Exonerations found that official misconduct contributed to the wrongful convictions of 87% of Black death row exonerees, compared to 67% of white death row exonerees.
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misconduct → find → exonerees
A 2024 study of California murder and manslaughter convictions between 1978 and 2002 also found that Black and Latino defendants were more likely to receive death sentences, even after accounting for culpability and statutory aggravating factors.
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defendants → find → culpability
Semel says most states do not provide adequate counsel or resources to people facing the death penalty.
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states → say → penalty
At the end of 2025, 391 people, or 70% of California’s death row population, were awaiting the appointment and/or funding of lawyers for state habeas corpus proceedings, according to a May 2026 report by the Habeas Corpus Resource Center.
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people → await → Center
Death penalty opponents also argue that carrying out executions is a costly endeavor.
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carrying → argue → executions
Since 1978, when California reinstated the death penalty, the state has spent around $6 billion on the death penalty system while executing 13 men, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
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state → reinstate → Center
Many death penalty cases also involve lengthy legal battles, keeping people on death row for years and sometimes decades.
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cases → involve → years
Two-thirds of the people on death row in California were sentenced more than 20 years ago, according to the center.
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thirds → sentence → center
Some political analysts have warned that Newsom’s decision could expose him to criticism during a general election.
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decision → warn → election
While support for capital punishment in California and nationwide has declined since historical highs in the tough-on-crime eras of the mid-1980s and 1990s, the issue remains divisive.
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issue → decline → mid-1980s
…and 40 more, not listed.
The Aporia
