California Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Thursday, November 5, 2026, that he will commute the sentences of all 548 inmates currently on the state’s death row to life in prison without the possibility of parole. In an open letter, Newsom stated that he is using his constitutional clemency authority to take this action, though he acknowledged the move does not repeal California’s death penalty statute or prevent future capital cases.
The decision follows Newsom’s 2019 moratorium on executions, which he enacted shortly after taking office. While California has not carried out an execution since 2006, the state’s death row remained the largest in the country. California voters have previously supported the death penalty at the ballot box, rejecting repeal measures in 2012 and 2016, while narrowly approving a 2016 measure intended to accelerate the execution process.
Under the California Constitution, the governor requires approval from the California Supreme Court to grant clemency to any individual convicted of multiple felonies. Newsom noted that some of the 548 cases will require this judicial review before the commutations are finalized. He described the decision as one of his hardest as governor, noting that he alone bears responsibility for the impact on crime victims’ families.
The scale of the action involves the state's condemned population, representing a shift in the legal standing of more than 500 people simultaneously. While the move clears the current death row, it does not change the state's penal code, meaning the legal infrastructure for capital litigation will remain in place for new cases. The judicial system must now process the specific clemency applications through the state Supreme Court for those with multiple felony convictions.
The action follows votes as recently as 2016 to maintain and speed up executions. Critics of the death penalty suggest this move aligns the state with evolving legal standards, while proponents of the current law may view it as a circumvention of the public will. Moving forward, the California Supreme Court must now review the cases of inmates with multiple felonies to determine if the commutations can proceed. Newsom, who is concluding his eight-year tenure, has not announced a specific deadline for the completion of these reviews.