Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday he is commuting the death sentences of all 548 people under a California capital sentence, reducing those punishments to life in prison without the possibility of parole^3,4,5.

The Los Angeles Times reported that Newsom told the California Supreme Court of the plan; he can commute about 40 percent of the sentences on his own, while nearly 60 percent need the court's approval because those inmates had prior or later felony convictions⁵. CalMatters said four of seven justices must sign off on commutations for people convicted of multiple felonies³. KCRA cited the same constitutional rule⁴.

Newsom, a Democrat preparing to leave office after two terms, imposed a moratorium on executions in 2019, three years after California voters rejected a ballot measure to abolish the death penalty and approved one aimed at speeding executions, CalMatters reported^3,4. The Times said the state has not carried out an execution since 2006⁵.

In an open letter addressed to all Californians, Newsom wrote that "state-sanctioned killing is incompatible with California's values," according to CalMatters, KCRA and the Times^3,4,5. KCRA reported he also wrote that he alone bears responsibility for the decision and its impact⁴.

CalMatters said Newsom stated that people whose sentences are commuted will not be eligible for new Board of Parole Hearings commutation and resentencing regulations³. Since 2024, men formerly held on San Quentin's death row have been housed at other prisons, and 20 women with death sentences were moved into general population at the Central California Women's Facility, CalMatters reported³.

Victims' advocates split. Topo Padilla, president of Crime Victims United, told CalMatters a governor should not undo a jury sentence signed off by a judge because of personal beliefs³. Sandy Friend, whose son was murdered in 1996, called the plan "total disrespect for the victims," the Times reported⁵. Bethany Webb, whose sister was killed in a 2011 Seal Beach shooting, said the death-penalty process "is brutalizing to family members"⁵.

The Times said Newsom waited until after Tuesday's general election to start the commutations and is considering a 2028 presidential run; a Republican consultant quoted there said the stance fits a Democratic primary electorate more than moderate voters⁵. CalMatters did not lead with that political frame³.

Whether the Supreme Court approves every multiple-felony commutation before Newsom leaves office in January is not settled in Thursday's coverage; the Times noted the court rejected 10 clemency cases from Gov. Jerry Brown in 2018^3,5. Without a change in state law, people can still be sentenced to death in California, the Times reported⁵. The New York Times and The Guardian also reported the commutations of more than 500 California death sentences; their accounts were not quoted here^1,2.