Seven years after dismantling the death row chamber in San Quentin prison, California governor Gavin Newsom commutes over 500 death sentences
‘Incompatible with California’s values.’
California governor Gavin Newsom has officially commuted the death sentences of more than 500 people currently on the state’s death row. This massive move, announced on Thursday, November 5, 2026, serves as the largest clearing of any death row in modern United States history. According to The Guardian, these individuals will now serve life sentences without the possibility of parole. The decision ensures that these people can never be executed, even under future administrations.
This action arrives seven years after Newsom dismantled the physical death row chamber at San Quentin prison. That earlier step transferred those on death row to other facilities. Those individuals gained access to more programs and experienced more freedom of movement than they had in their previous solitary cells.
Newsom, who is often viewed as a likely candidate for president in 2028, has consistently opposed capital punishment. He previously issued a moratorium on executions back in 2019.
The governor explained his reasoning in an open letter
“I take this action because I firmly believe that state-sanctioned killing is incompatible with California’s values, undermines the foundations of our legal system, and diminishes each of us,” Newsom said. This decision comes as the national conversation around the death penalty remains complicated.
While public support has declined since the 1990s, Al Jazeera reports that recent polling from the Pew Research Center in August suggests that 66% of Americans still support the punishment for those convicted of murder. However, roughly 73% of those same respondents acknowledged the risk of executing an innocent person.
The timing of this news follows the failed execution of Christa Pike in Tennessee. That event sparked global outrage and led to renewed calls for a nationwide pause on capital punishment. The Death Penalty Information Center, or DPIC, has tracked these issues closely. Robin Maher, the executive director of the DPIC, released a statement following the announcement.
“Governor Newsom’s announcement marks a decisive moment in the history of the death penalty in the United States. Though other governors have granted universal clemencies, none have been at this scale,” Maher said. She added, “By bookending his time as governor first with a moratorium and now this mass clemency, Governor Newsom has irrevocably changed California’s relationship with the death penalty.”
About two-thirds of these commutations must still be reviewed by the California Supreme Court
State law requires this review for anyone with multiple felony convictions before such a move becomes final. California has not carried out an execution since 2006. Despite this long gap, the state has maintained the largest death row population in the entire country for years. The DPIC reports that California has spent $6 billion on the death penalty since 1978 while completing just 13 executions.
Proponents of the death penalty often argue that it has a deterrent effect, but critics point to decades of research that suggests otherwise. They also highlight the high costs and the risk of human error. The DPIC notes that at least 203 people wrongly convicted and sentenced to death in the US have been exonerated since 1973.
President Donald Trump has expressed a different view, as he has championed the death penalty for serious federal crimes. His administration previously pledged to expand the use of federal executions, including the potential use of firing squads. Newsom’s move reduces the total number of people on death row nationally by nearly 30%.
This decision is not without its historical context. California once served as a primary laboratory for tough-on-crime policies during the late 20th century. For instance, California and Washington were among the first states to pass three strikes laws in the early 1990s. Those laws punished repeat offenders with high minimum sentences.
Newsom’s approach to criminal justice has been a mix of reform and controversy
While he has supported efforts to prioritize rehabilitative programs, some advocates have accused him of caving to political pressure. He has vetoed the release of high-profile prisoners even after they were granted parole. He also vetoed a bill in 2022 that would have placed limits on the use of solitary confinement in state prisons. In 2019, he vetoed a measure that would have limited cooperation between Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and prison authorities.
Other governors have taken similar steps in the past. An Illinois Republican commuted all 167 death sentences in 2003 before leaving office. In 2024, North Carolina’s Democratic governor, Roy Cooper, commuted 15 death sentences on his final day in office.
For Newsom, this move comes near the end of his time as governor. He will be replaced by former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra on January 4, 2027. As he looks toward his future, this decision represents a significant shift in how the most populous state in the country handles its most severe criminal sentences.
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