California had not carried out an execution since 2006, Newsom said

NEED TO KNOW

• Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom moved to commute 548 death sentences
• California has not executed anyone since 2006, and Newsom formalized an execution moratorium in 2019
• About 60% of the commutations will require approval from the California Supreme Court

Outgoing Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom has commuted the sentences of everyone on the state’s death row.

In an open letter published on Nov. 5, Newsom wrote that capital punishment was incompatible with the “core values” of “justice and human decency.”

“After nearly 30 years in public office, I have come to understand the limits of what government can justly accomplish,” Newsom wrote. “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.”

“I know we cannot execute people in our imperfect legal system and remain true to our core values,” he continued. “First among them justice and human decency.”

Calling the decision “among the most difficult of my career,” Newsom wrote that he had “decided to commute every death sentence” in the state of California, covering 548 persons, and convert their penalties to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

California maintains the death penalty on its books but has not executed a prisoner since 2006, Newsom noted. After years of an informal freeze on capital punishment, Newsom instituted a formal moratorium on executions in 2019.

Commutations for those convicted of a felony prior to their death sentence must be approved by the California Supreme Court, covering about 60% of prisoners on death row, per the Los Angeles Times.

Those who will see their sentences commuted include Richard Allen Davis, who was convicted in 1996 of kidnapping and murdering 12-year-old Polly Klaas in a crime that inspired California to adopt its “three strikes” law.

Infamous killers like Charles Manson and Scott Peterson were initially condemned to death but later had their sentences reduced to life without parole. Others, such as “Night Stalker” Richard Ramirez and “Dating Game Killer” Rodney Alcala, died in prison while awaiting execution.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

Newsom said in his letter that life without parole will “let these offenders die in obscurity while we forever remember and honor their victims.”

Newsom is set to be replaced as governor in January by fellow Democrat Xavier Becerra, who beat Republican Steve Hilton in Tuesday’s election.

The move comes on the heels of President Joe Biden’s 2024 commutation of most federal death row inmates’ sentences.

However, the death penalty remains in active use in many states. Three executions were scheduled to take place across the U.S. on the same day that Newsom issued his commutation.

#Outgoing #Calif #Gov #Newsom #Commutes #States #Death #Sentences