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California Governor Gavin Newsom announced on November 5, 2026, that he is using his clemency powers to change the sentences of every inmate on the state’s death row to life imprisonment without parole. In an open letter to residents, Newsom stated that he firmly believes state-sanctioned killing is incompatible with California’s values, undermines the foundations of the legal system and diminishes each of us. The move affects the largest death row in the nation, which accounts for roughly one quarter of all death sentences in the United States, Bloomberg reported. Approximately one-third of the commutations can take effect immediately while the remainder require approval from the California Supreme Court due to rules on multiple felony convictions.
The decision builds on a moratorium on executions that Newsom imposed in 2019, formalizing a de facto halt that had been in place since the state’s last execution in 2006. Only 13 executions have occurred since the death penalty was reinstated by voters in 1978, according to data from the Death Penalty Information Center. Newsom noted that the action will close capital cases that have lingered in the courts for decades in some instances. He acknowledged the pain it may cause victims’ families but said he alone bears responsibility for the choice just as he would for any execution.
California has spent an estimated 6 billion dollars on the death penalty since 1978 with minimal results in terms of actual executions, the Death Penalty Information Center figures show. The commutations are expected to yield significant savings in future legal costs even though the decision is largely symbolic given the long-standing absence of executions. Newsom emphasized that the inmates will still serve life without parole and will not be eligible for certain resentencing procedures that could otherwise shorten their incarceration.
This single action reduces the national death row population by nearly 30 percent, leaving approximately 1,388 people under sentence of death across the country, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. It represents the seventh time in the modern era that a governor has granted clemency to all death-sentenced individuals in a state. Newsom, who is reportedly considering a presidential bid in 2028, had long opposed the death penalty during his public career.
The American Civil Liberties Union welcomed the announcement, with executive director Anthony Romero stating that the commutations reflect what justice demands by ending a racist, error-prone and inhumane punishment. Studies cited by the Death Penalty Information Center have found that Black and Latino defendants are substantially more likely to receive death sentences than others in comparable cases, particularly those involving white victims. Newsom had rejected calls to grant clemency selectively, saying he evaluated the cases across different categories of offenses.
The governor’s letter highlighted that while many Californians may feel those who commit heinous acts deserve death, the state cannot morally carry out such killings. He added that the offenders can now die in obscurity while victims are forever remembered and honored. This development comes after voters rejected a 2016 ballot measure to repeal the death penalty, underscoring divided public opinion on the issue in California.
