Some California prosecutors condemn Newsom's plan to commute all 548 death sentences
Kern County's district attorney says the action will be challenged, and the state Supreme Court must still review hundreds of the cases.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday, Nov. 5, in an open letter that he would of all 548 people on the state's to life in prison without . He wrote that "the state cannot morally kill them." Newsom's office says the inmates will stay in prison and are not eligible for release.
Some of the commutations need approval from the California . Time, The Center Square and Fox News, which cites the Associated Press, put the number of such cases at 382. California has not carried out an execution since 2006, and Newsom has had a moratorium in place since 2019.
Newsom said in an interview that he acted on his judgment rather than the polls and knows the decision could make him vulnerable if he runs for president. According to Time, death penalty opponents welcomed the move. Fox News reports that at least a dozen condemned it.
Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman acknowledged that commuting existing sentences is within the governor's authority but said that power does not reach ending the death penalty, which only the Legislature or voters can do. Kern County District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer said the action "will be challenged." Newsom leaves office in January.
Governor-elect Xavier Becerra has said he will continue the pause on executions.
- 548death sentences Newsom seeks to commuteHuffPost
- 382cases needing California Supreme Court approvalFox News
- At least a dozenCalifornia district attorneys condemning the plan, per Fox NewsFox News
- 2006year of California's last executionLos Angeles Times
Three sides of the story
22 news outlets reported this
Tap a color or swipe sideways to switch sides.
Liberal9 outlets
Newsom's conscience, the risk, and a historic commutation
The Los Angeles Times leads with the political risk. Newsom, who is weighing a 2028 presidential run, says "I couldn't not have done this" and "The ads write themselves." The paper also quotes Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman, who says his office will keep evaluating every death-penalty-eligible case, and Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper, who urged Newsom to reconsider.
Time explains what to know, calling it the largest mass commutation of death sentences in US history, and reports that 382 of the 548 sentences need Supreme Court review. HuffPost opens with Newsom's announcement as one of his final acts in office, then quotes his open letter calling the system "a failure." It reports that former Sacramento District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert told the New York Times she would sue.
A Guardian opinion piece by Amherst College professor Austin Sarat argues the move is a "transformative moment" and a sign that opposing the death penalty is no longer politically off-limits.
- Los Angeles Times: With death sentence clemency, Newsom takes another big political risk
- Time: What to Know About Gavin Newsom’s Historic Commutation of All California Death Sentences
- The Guardian: We’ve just seen a transformative moment in America’s death penalty history | Austin Sarat
- HuffPost: Gavin Newsom Moves To Commute Every Person On California’s Death Row
Center4 outlets
What the commutation means for Becerra and voters
Newsweek turns to the man who will succeed Newsom. Its report asks where Governor-elect Xavier Becerra stands and recalls that, as in 2017, he said his office would keep seeking the death penalty against Scott DeKraai. It adds that the changes will not free anyone, make anyone eligible for parole, or alter convictions, and that the death penalty remains in state law.
It places the move against two failed to end capital punishment and a Pew survey in which 66 percent of US adults favored the death penalty for murder and 32 percent opposed it. Newsweek says it contacted Becerra's office for comment. A Christian Science Monitor editorial, headlined "California gives life to ending the death penalty," says Newsom acted from personal conscience and argues the move "might add to the steady erosion of public support" for capital punishment.
- Newsweek: Where California’s Next Governor Stands On Death Penalty
- Christian Science Monitor: California gives life to ending the death penalty (opinion)
Conservative9 outlets
Prosecutors and victims' families push back on Newsom
Fox News leads with a "DA revolt," reporting that at least a dozen district attorneys condemn the plan. It quotes Orange County's Todd Spitzer calling it "mercy for the wolves" and Kern County's Cynthia Zimmer saying, "This assault on justice will be challenged." The New York Post quotes San Joaquin County District Attorney Ron Freitas vowing to keep seeking executions in "the right cases."
The Center Square quotes Modoc County District Attorney Nina Salarno, who says the decision blindsided victims and who calls on the Supreme Court to review each case. The Washington Free Beacon lists serial killers and child murderers among those spared, including Richard Allen Davis, and sets the 548 commutations beside Joe Biden's 37. It reports that victims' relatives, including Marc Klaas, criticized the move.
- Fox News: Newsom’s death-row commutations spark DA revolt as prosecutors warn of legal fight
- New York Post: California DA goes ballistic over Gavin Newsom’s death row bombshell, vows to keep seeking executions
- The Center Square: Victims' advocates slam Newsom's decision to commute death sentences
- Washington Free Beacon: Gavin the Merciful: Newsom’s 548 Death Row Commutations of Infamous Child Murderers and Serial Killers Overshadow Biden’s Notorious Clemency Spree
Which side made the stronger case?
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- Month of the Pew Research Center death penalty survey
- Los Angeles Times: conducted in August
- New York Post: survey from July
All sources: 37 articles from 22 outlets
Liberal (11)
- ABC News: Gov. Newsom says he will commute all death sentences in state to life without parole
- HuffPost: Gavin Newsom Moves To Commute Every Person On California’s Death Row
- Los Angeles Times: Gov.-elect Xavier Becerra names transition team
- Los Angeles Times: Chabria: Inside the prison cell where Newsom made his death row decision
- Los Angeles Times: With death sentence clemency, Newsom takes another big political risk
- MS NOW: What Gavin Newsom’s mass commutation says about death penalty politics (opinion)
- NBC News: Gov. Gavin Newsom Commutes All 548 California Death Sentences
- The Guardian: We’ve just seen a transformative moment in America’s death penalty history | Austin Sarat
- Time: What to Know About Gavin Newsom’s Historic Commutation of All California Death Sentences
- Yahoo News: Newsom's death penalty gamble could help him in 2028 — or come back to bite him
Center (4)
- Border Report: 10 convicted serial killers whose death sentences Newsom plans to commute
- Christian Science Monitor: California gives life to ending the death penalty (opinion)
- NewsNation: 10 convicted serial killers whose death sentences Newsom plans to commute
- Newsweek: Where California’s Next Governor Stands On Death Penalty
Conservative (22)
- Breitbart News: Father of Polly Klaas: Newsom Commuting All Death Sentences 'Heartbreaking'
- Breitbart News: Maher: Newsom Commuted Death Sentences for Attention, to Cater to 'Left Cause', He Runs 'Far-Left Place'
- Breitbart News: Gavin Newsom's Mass Commutation of Death Row Inmates Faces Legal Battle, Pushback from Prosecutors
- Breitbart News: Newsom Moves to Commute All 548 California Death Sentences to Life
- Daily Caller: EXCLUSIVE: Mass Murderer Whose Death Sentence Was Commuted Urges Newsom To Run For President, Others Question Dem Governor’s Motives
- Fox News: Newsom’s death-row commutations spark DA revolt as prosecutors warn of legal fight
- Fox News: California prosecutors slam Newsom's death row commutations, accuse governor of putting 'politics over people'
- Fox News: Newsom orders California’s most reviled killers off death row – 10 of the worst who could benefit
- Fox News: MICHAEL RUIZ: California prosecutors revolt after Newsom orders state's worst killers off death row
- New York Post: Ex-Dem Senate leader asks California Supreme Court to block Gavin Newsom’s death row commutations
- New York Post: California DA goes ballistic over Gavin Newsom’s death row bombshell, vows to keep seeking executions
- New York Post: Gov. Gavin Newsom reveals the moment he decided to spare all of California’s 548 death row inmates
- New York Post: Newsom’s death row bombshell could give convicted killers a path to freedom, LA DA warns
- New York Post: Dozens of child killers spared by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s mass commutation
- New York Post: Horrific college girl slayings resurface as Gavin Newsom’s death row stunt slammed by DAs
- The Center Square: Goodwin names transition team including former GOP Texas Supreme Court Justice
- The Center Square: Victims' advocates slam Newsom's decision to commute death sentences
- The Daily Signal: Newsom’s Outrageous Death Row Commutations Offer Larger Lesson About ‘Progressive’ Governance
- The Daily Signal: Newsom Moves to Spare 548 Death Row Inmates, Including Child Killers and Notorious Serial Murderers
- Townhall: Gavin Newsom Commutes 548 Death Sentences to Life in Prison
- Washington Examiner: Newsom unilaterally voids California’s death penalty cases (opinion)
- Washington Free Beacon: Gavin the Merciful: Newsom’s 548 Death Row Commutations of Infamous Child Murderers and Serial Killers Overshadow Biden’s Notorious Clemency Spree
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