Gavin Newsom has spared every murderer on California‘s death row in one of his final acts as governor.
Newsom on Thursday announced that he was commuting the sentences of all 548 prisoners on death row in the state.
He has reduced every sentence to life in prison without parole, he revealed in an open letter to California residents.
The Democrat said his decision comes after ‘nearly three decades of openly opposing’ capital punishment, which he finds morally objectionable.
Newsom acknowledged that while the prisoners on death row caused ‘indescribable suffering’ to their victims and their loved ones, but went on to argue that he has ‘concluded the state cannot morally kill them.’
‘State-sanctioned killing is incompatible with California’s values, undermines the foundations of our legal system and diminishes each of us,’ he wrote in the letter.
‘I know we cannot execute people in our imperfect legal system and remain true to our core values, first among them justice and human decency.’
Although Newsom has announced his mass clemency plan, it is unclear if he is actually permitted to do reduce every prisoner’s sentence under California law.
Gavin Newsom, pictured, has spared every murderer on California’s death row in one of his final acts as governor
Newsom has commuted the sentences of all 548 prisoners on death row in the state, reducing every sentence to life in prison without parole
According to the state constitution, the governor can unilaterally grant clemency and commute sentences for inmates who have only been convicted of a single felony.
But the California Supreme Court’s approval is required to grant clemency to anyone convicted of a felony more than once.
This means the court would have to approve 382 of the commutations announced Thursday, or roughly 70 percent, according to numbers provided by Newsom’s office.
Newsom said the decision was among the most difficult choices of his career because it will surface painful memories for crime victims’ families.
‘As Governor, I alone bear responsibility for this decision and its impact, just as I alone would bear responsibility for each execution,’ he wrote.
Newsom had been weighing the clemency move for months, but increased talks with his advisors after the botched execution of Christa Pike in Tennessee on September 30, Newsweek reported.
The decision comes as Newsom prepares to leave office after eight years. In 2019, he placed a moratorium on executions in the state but hundreds of people remained on death row.
California voters rejected a ballot measure in 2016 that would have repealed the death penalty in the state.
Newsom has said in the past that he feels 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.
The American Civil Liberties Union, who has argued the implementation of the death penalty reflects racial bias, applauded the 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,’ said executive director Anthony Romero 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.
This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.
