Newsom seeks life terms for California’s 548 death row prisoners

California Governor Gavin Newsom said on Thursday, 5 November, that he would change all 548 death sentences in the state to life without parole.

He set out the move in an open letter. For 382 people, the change still needs the backing of the California Supreme Court. State rules demand that step for anyone found guilty of more than one felony.

The change would spare those prisoners from being put to death. They would stay in prison for life. The death penalty remains in law, so prosecutors can still seek it in new cases.

Newsom said he was using his power to grant clemency because he opposed the state taking lives as punishment. He said the system could not work fairly and had sent innocent people to prison.

He called the choice one of the hardest of his career. He said it could bring back painful memories for victims’ families. He accepted that he alone was responsible for the move and its effects.

His office said the group included 529 men and 19 women. It said 220 people had waited at least 15 years for a lawyer to handle their habeas cases.

Newsom halted executions in 2019, soon after taking office. California last put a prisoner to death in 2006. The new move would change the sentences themselves, rather than just pause their use. The required court checks still apply.

Local justice officials gave sharply different views of the move.

Los Angeles County Public Defender Ricardo García backed it. He said his office had sought clemency for all those on death row. He called the system deeply unfair.

Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer opposed the move. He said it went against jury verdicts and the wishes of victims’ families. His office would keep seeking death sentences in cases where it thought them justified, he said.