Newsom Wipes Out 548 'Racist, Inhumane' Death Sentences With One Letter California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday he will commute every death sentence in the state to life in prison without the possibility of parole , wiping out the largest death row in the Western Hemisphere with 548 people on it, 529 men and 19 women, according to ABC7 .
In a letter he shared with the announcement, Newsom said he was using his "constitutional clemency authority" and that "state-sanctioned killing is incompatible with California's values, undermines the foundations of our legal system, and diminishes each of us." Presumably the diminishment of the victims was less incompatible.
He called it one of the most difficult decisions of his career and wrote, "I alone bear responsibility for this decision and its impact," while acknowledging it will resurface painful memories for victims' families. The commutations are not final for most of the condemned.