Graphic of Gavin Newsom, Governor of California (Lauren Chavez / The Puma Prensa)
By Lauren Chavez, Co-Executive Editor
On Thursday, November 6, 2026, Gavin Newsom announced that he would be commuting sentences for all 548 people currently on death row in the state of California. They will receive life in prison without the possibility of parole.
California hasn’t executed a prisoner since 2006, and Newsom claimed that his decision to commute the sentences is because he believes that “state-sanctioned killing is incompatible with California’s values.” The death sentence has long been a point of contention across the country, and is a frequent topic of debate in a lot of states. Many people believe that not only is it immoral, but that those who commit crimes terrible enough to land them on death row shouldn’t have the luxury of a quick, painless death by way of lethal injection or otherwise. They also believe that the decision to take another person’s life isn’t a right we have as humans, and that those on death row would be better off having time to think about their actions or possibly even suffer longer.
California has held the death penalty for 175 years but is well known for being a state that hasn’t participated in active executions for a long time. Newsom’s decision to pardon all sentences marks a point of change in California’s dynamic, making it clear to both the state and others outside of it that California no longer supports the death penalty and is taking steps in a new direction.