Newsom moves to commute 548 death sentences, emptying California’s death row

The Washington Post · Katie Mettler, Hannah Knowles · 2026-11-05 19:43 UTC

The outgoing governor and potential 2028 presidential candidate said he will seek to commute the death sentences of 548 prisoners.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Thursday said he has started the process of commuting the death sentences of more than 500 state prisoners — a historic move that, if successful, would empty the nation’s largest death row and eliminate about a quarter of all death sentences nationwide.

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