California Governor Gavin Newsom on Thursday granted pardons to all 548 people held on death row in the state's prisons, according to Nettavisen. The condemned inmates will instead spend the rest of their lives behind bars.
The decision was described as a bold move for a governor with presidential ambitions, the Los Angeles Times reported, as cited by Nettavisen.
Why it matters
California operates one of the largest death rows in the United States, and the mass pardon effectively empties it. The governor's action converts every capital sentence in the state into a life term, a step that goes well beyond the moratoriums and individual clemencies that have shaped the national debate over executions in recent years.
It also lands at a politically sensitive moment. Newsom is barred from seeking another term and leaves office in January 2027, with Xavier Becerra set to succeed him as the state's first Latino governor. The pardons therefore arrive in the final stretch of Newsom's time in office, and they carry weight for a Democrat widely seen as eyeing the White House.
Newsom's reasoning, in his own words
In a letter released Thursday, Newsom set out his justification for the blanket clemency. He wrote that he was acting because he firmly believes killings carried out by the state are incompatible with California's values, that they weaken the foundations of the legal system, and that they diminish everyone involved.
The governor added that society cannot put people to death within an imperfect justice system and still remain true to its core principles — above all fairness and basic human dignity.
He acknowledged that the crimes of those on death row have caused suffering beyond what most people can imagine, pain that will carry through generations. Even so, he concluded that the state is morally unable to take their lives.
Newsom also framed the decision as a test of conviction, saying that fidelity to one's values is measured by how one acts when following them is hard.
A long-considered choice
According to Nettavisen, Newsom had weighed clemency for death row inmates for some time. He has spoken of the decision as one he will look back on in old age, when he expects to ask himself whether he met his own standards.
The governor has opposed capital punishment on principle. His move is nonetheless politically risky, and Nettavisen notes it is not the kind of decision likely to win him broad political support. Critics argue the pardons show disregard for victims, for the sentences handed down against these offenders, and for the American court system.
Newsom's letter responds directly to that criticism: he does not dispute the harm the inmates caused, but argues the state cannot answer it with executions.
What to watch
With Becerra due to take over in January 2027, attention turns to whether the incoming administration preserves the commutations and how the debate over capital punishment unfolds in California and nationally.
