Gavin Newsom commutes sentences of all death row inmates in California

Breaking News By Deutsche Welle (DW) • November 5, 2026, 8:07 PM UTC

⏱ 1 min read 👁 25 views

Direct Source Verification: This story is aggregated from Deutsche Welle (DW) (dw.com). Full reporting rights and copyright belong to the primary publisher.

Read on Deutsche Welle (DW) ↗

Gavin Newsom commutes sentences of all death row inmates in California

Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat and a rumored presidential candidate, moved to commute the death sentences of 548 inmates in California for one of his last acts as governor.

Gavin Newsom's term ends in 2027Image: Steven Senne/AP/dpa/picture allianceAdvertisementCalifornia Governor Gavin Newsom said Thursday that he will change all death sentences in the state to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

"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," Newsom said in a letter.

There are 548 people on death row in California.

Newsom said in a letter to Californians that he has long opposed death penalty and issued a moratorium on executions in 2019.

Newsom can commute about 40% of the death sentences with the stroke of a pen, but the rest will require the high court's approval to be finalized, according to the Los Angeles Times.

This is a breaking news story, Please check back for the latest version.

Original Source

https://www.dw.com/en/gavin-newsom-commutes-sentences-of-all-death-row-inmates-in-california/a-79870988?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf

Visit Deutsche Welle (DW) ↗

𝕏 f in