California Gov. Gavin Newsom plans to commute all death sentences

Gov. Gavin Newsom commuted all California death sentences on Thursday, declaring that “state-sanctioned killing is incompatible with” values in America’s most populous state.

In an open letter to constituents, Newsom said taking this step is “among the most difficult of my career.”

“I take this action because I firmly believe that state-sanctioned killing is incompatible with California’s values,” he said.

California has not put a prisoner to death since Jan. 17, 2006 when Clarence Ray Allen was put to death via lethal injection.

Newsom said his executive action will impact the “548 people now under death sentence in California,” making for “the largest death row in the Western Hemisphere.”

There were 561 inmates on death row as of Tuesday, according to Department of Corrections records.