California Gov. Gavin Newsom says he'll commute all death row sentences to life in prison

California governor Gavin Newsom is commuting the death sentences of more than 500 inmates to life in prison with no parole, saying he believes state-sanctioned killing is incompatible with the values of California, undermines the foundations of the legal system and "diminishes each of us."

There are currently 548 people on death row in the state, the highest number in the U.S.

Stephanie Hogan · CBC News

· Posted: Nov 05, 2026 4:10 PM EST | Last Updated: 14 minutes ago

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom says he will commute the death sentences of more than 500 inmates to life in prison with no possibility of parole, saying he believes state-sanctioned killing is incompatible with the values of California, undermines the foundations of the legal system and "diminishes each of us."

In an open letter, Newsom says his decision comes after three decades of openly opposing state-sanctioned executions. He issued a moratorium on all inmate executions in the state in 2019, but said it wasn't enough as their death sentences remained intact.

There are currently 548 people on death row in California, which Newsom describes as "the largest death row in the Western Hemisphere."

California last put a ⁠prisoner to death in ⁠2006, when Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger was ‌governor.

Newsom's decision, which he calls the most difficult of his career, comes just months before the end of his eight-year term as governor, and amid speculation he will launch a bid to run as the Democratic candidate for president in 2028.

Newsom speaks with incarcerated men at San Quentin State Prison in San Quentin, Calif., in March 2023. (Eric Risberg/The Associated Press)

Requires state Supreme Court approval

The state constitution requires the California Supreme Court's approval to grant clemency to anyone convicted of a felony more than once, which means the court would have to approve 382 of those commutations, or roughly 70 per cent, according to numbers provided by Newsom's office.

California voters rejected a ballot measure in 2016 that would have repealed the death penalty in the state.

"I recognize the limits of this clemency action," Newsom wrote, "which does not repeal the death penalty and is limited to commuting California's current death sentences."

Repealing the law rests with the legislature and voters, but he says that, as governor, he has clemency authority "for moments when law as applied cannot be squared with justice."

"For me," he said, "this is that moment."

Last month, the California District Attorneys Association sent a letter to Newsom expressing "grave concerns" about the possibility he would commute the sentences, warning that such a sweeping action would inflict additional anguish on victims' families.

"Every death sentence in California represents an individual case in which a jury heard the evidence, considered the circumstances and determined that the most serious punishment under our law was warranted," association President Jeannine M. Pacioni said.

"To simply erase all those judgments with the stroke of a pen, without considering the facts of each case or the families affected, would be a profound disservice to the administration of justice."

Newsom said he is aware his decision will surface painful memories for the families of victims of crime.

"As Governor, I alone bear responsibility for this decision and its impact, just as I alone would bear responsibility for each execution," Newsom wrote.

Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike, seen here in December 2007, survived two state-sanctioned execution attempts in September. (J. Miles Cary/ Knoxville News Sentinel/USA Today Network/Reuters)

Renewed debate over capital punishment

The debate over capital punishment in the U.S. intensified recently after Tennessee's failed execution of condemned killer Christa Pike, ‌who survived two attempts to inject her with lethal drugs on Sept. 30.

Pike was hospitalized afterward and was sent back to prison on Oct. 10.

The death penalty received further scrutiny after U.S. War Secretary Pete Hegseth announced plans to ​livestream the firing-squad execution of Nidal Hasan, who was convicted of killing 13 people and wounding more ⁠than 30 others in a shooting at the Fort Hood military base in ⁠Texas on Nov. 5, 2009.

U.S. President Donald Trump later ruled out a livestream ⁠of ⁠the execution, but Hasan is still ​scheduled to be executed by firing squad on Dec. 3.

LISTEN | The debate over the death penalty:

As It Happens1:14:47A botched lethal injection reignites death penalty debate

ACLU welcomes move

The American Civil Liberties Union, which has said the implementation of the death penalty reflects racial bias, applauded Newsom's announcement.

"These commutations reflect what justice demands: an end to a racist, error-prone, and inhumane punishment that has burdened California for far too long," executive director Anthony Romero said in a statement.

The ACLU is involved in an ongoing legal challenge to California's death penalty statute, alleging it is racially discriminatory and unconstitutional.

Newsom has said in the past that it is wrong for the government to kill its citizens and that capital punishment in practice has discriminated against mentally ill people and people of color.

In 2023, Newsom announced plans to transform San Quentin prison, a facility in the San Francisco Bay Area known for maintaining the largest number of prisoners on death row in the country, into a place where inmates could be rehabilitated and receive job training before returning to society.

That work was completed earlier this year.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Stephanie Hogan is a digital producer with CBC News, based in Toronto. She writes on a variety of subjects, with an interest in politics, health and the arts. She was previously political editor for The National and worked in various roles in TV and radio news.