More than 500 people on California’s death row are set to have their death sentences replaced with life in prison without the possibility of parole, in the largest mass clemency in United States history. Governor Gavin Newsom announced the decision on Thursday to commute the sentences of all 548 condemned prisoners, a move that will reduce the country's total death row population by nearly 30 percent.
Although California has not executed an inmate in 20 years, it has continued to house the largest death row in the nation. In an open letter explaining his decision, Newsom stated that state-sanctioned killing is "incompatible with California’s values" and undermines the foundations of the legal system. Criminal justice reform groups praised the action, pointing out that the state has spent roughly $6 billion administering capital punishment since 1978 while carrying out only 13 executions.
The commutations will not take effect immediately for everyone. Under California law, the state Supreme Court must first review clemency for any prisoner with multiple felony convictions—a legal condition that applies to about two-thirds of the cases. In addition, because the underlying sentencing laws remain on the books, California prosecutors and courts can still seek and impose the death penalty in future murder trials.
The move comes amid deep national divisions over the practice. While 23 US states have abolished capital punishment and public debate increasingly focuses on the risk of wrongful convictions and high costs, federal officials under President Donald Trump have pushed to expand executions. For California, Newsom’s mass commutations mark a decisive departure from the state's punitive, tough-on-crime policies of recent decades.