Governor of California announces commutation of all 548 death sentences to life without parole

5 November 2026

Governor Gavin Newsom announced in an open letter that he is commuting the sentences of all 548 people on California's death row.
Each sentence becomes life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
It is the largest mass clemency in United States history.
About two-thirds of the commutations must be reviewed by the Supreme Court of California before they are final, a step state law requires for people with multiple felony convictions.
California has the largest death row in the country and has not carried out an execution in twenty years.
The step will cut the national death row population by nearly 30 per cent.
The Death Penalty Information Center records that California has spent 6 billion dollars on the death penalty since 1978 and carried out 13 executions in that time.
Newsom said state-sanctioned killing is incompatible with California's values.