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California Governor Gavin Newsom has commuted the death sentences of more than 500 inmates on the state’s death row, ensuring they cannot be executed by future administrations.
The decision, announced on Thursday, converts all death sentences in California to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. It is the largest mass clearing of a death row in modern US history.
The move comes following renewed calls for a nationwide pause on capital punishment following the failed execution of Christa Pike in Tennessee. The incident prompted global outrage and new debate over the use of the death penalty.
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Newsom, a Democrat who is considered a possible presidential candidate in 2028, has long opposed capital punishment. In 2019, he placed a moratorium on executions in California.
He also dismantled the physical death row unit at San Quentin prison in 2023. Inmates sentenced to death were transferred to other facilities, where they had more freedom of movement and access to rehabilitation programmes.
For some inmates, the transfer marked a major change after spending decades in isolated cells.
California last carried out an execution in 2006. However, hundreds of inmates remained on death row, making the state home to the largest death row population in the United States.
Newsom’s decision follows similar actions by governors from both major political parties. In 2003, former Illinois Governor George Ryan, a Republican, commuted all 167 death sentences in the state before leaving office.
Similarly, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper commuted 15 death sentences on his final day in office in December 2024.
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Meanwhile, support for the death penalty has declined across the United States. However, some Democratic leaders have been reluctant to approve mass commutations over fears that Republicans could portray them as soft on crime.
Newsom has also supported criminal justice reforms, including efforts to expand rehabilitation programmes in prisons.
However, some campaigners have accused him of giving in to political pressure on capital punishment. They have pointed to cases in which he blocked the release of high-profile inmates, even after parole boards approved their release.
