California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that he will commute all 548 death sentences in the state to life imprisonment without the possibility of release. The decision is one of the largest clemency actions in the history of the United States, but it will not take effect in full automatically.
According to the governor’s office, 382 of the cases require approval from the California Supreme Court because they involve people convicted of more than one serious crime. They account for approximately 70% of all the planned sentence commutations. Newsom has the authority to act independently in the remaining cases.
„I am taking this action because I firmly believe that state-sanctioned killing is incompatible with California’s values, undermines the foundations of our legal system and degrades us all,“ Newsom said.The 2019 Moratorium
The governor has long opposed the death penalty. In 2019, he imposed a moratorium on executions without abolishing the punishment itself or changing the court rulings that had been handed down. No execution has been carried out in the state since 2006, although the death penalty remains part of the legislation.
California residents confirmed its retention in referendums in 2012 and 2016. Newsom acknowledged that he respected that vote, but said that the state constitution gives the governor clemency powers in cases where enforcing the law cannot be reconciled with justice.
Reactions and Next Steps
The decision affects 529 men and 19 women who are currently sentenced to death. If all the commutations are approved, the number of people sentenced to death in the United States will decrease by nearly 30%, the Associated Press reported, citing the Death Penalty Information Center.
Organizations representing victims’ relatives criticized the move. Topo Padilla, president of Crime Victims United, said the governor should not overturn sentences handed down by juries and upheld by a judge because of his personal beliefs.
The next key step is the California Supreme Court’s review of the 382 cases. Until that process is completed, the current punishment remains in effect for them. Newsom announced the measure in the final months of his second and last term as governor.
Sources: apnews.com, investing.com, latimes.com