California Governor Gavin Newsom has commuted the sentences of every person on the state's death row, a sweeping action affecting 548 individuals. Newsom said his decision reflects his opposition to what he described as "state-sanctioned killing."
California has long had one of the largest death row populations in the country, even though the state has not carried out an execution since 2006. Newsom placed a moratorium on executions shortly after taking office, closing the state's execution chamber at San Quentin, but the underlying death sentences had remained in place until this week's action, meaning those sentenced to death stayed legally on death row even without the prospect of imminent execution.
A commutation does not mean release. People whose death sentences are commuted typically face sentences of life in prison without the possibility of parole, meaning they remain incarcerated but are no longer under a sentence of death. The action effectively makes California's years-long execution moratorium a more permanent feature of the state's criminal justice system, since commuted sentences are considerably harder to reverse than an executive moratorium that could be lifted by a future governor.
The decision is likely to draw sharp reactions from different sides of the long-running debate over capital punishment, a divide that has run through American politics and law for decades, including disagreements over its use as a deterrent, its cost to taxpayers relative to life imprisonment, and the risk of wrongful convictions. Newsom's action places California alongside a small number of states that have moved to eliminate the practical application of the death penalty even where it remains on the books.
Reaction from victims' families and law enforcement groups, and whether any legal challenges are filed seeking to reverse the commutations.
Does this mean death row inmates will be released?
No, commutation typically converts a death sentence to life in prison without parole; those affected remain incarcerated.
Had California been carrying out executions?
No, California has not executed anyone since 2006 and had an existing moratorium on executions before this week's commutations.