Newsom moves to commute all 548 California death sentences before leaving office

California’s entire death row would be emptied if the state Supreme Court approves, a decision Newsom says is among the hardest of his career and one the ACLU has praised.

California Governor Gavin Newsom has announced plans to commute all 548 death sentences in the state to life in prison without parole as he prepares to leave office, The Independent reports.

Newsom announced the decision on Thursday, ending an eight-year term in which he enacted an execution moratorium in 2019. Hundreds of convicts remained condemned.

“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,” he said in a letter. He said he alone bears responsibility for the decision, and acknowledged it will bring back painful memories for victims’ families.

Under the state constitution, approval from the California Supreme Court is required to grant clemency to anyone convicted of multiple felonies. California voters rejected a ballot measure in 2016 that would have repealed the death penalty.

The American Civil Liberties Union applauded the move. Its executive director, Anthony Romero, said it ends “a racist, error-prone, and inhumane punishment.”

Newsom is considered a 2028 presidential hopeful.