Gavin Newsom’s Move Could Significantly Shrink America’s Death Row

Newsweek · Alex Backus · 2026-11-06 02:44 UTC

Newsom's decision would change the sentences of 548 people on California's death row to life without parole.

California Governor Gavin Newsom announced Thursday that he aims to commute the death sentences of everyone on the state's death row, replacing them with life imprisonment without possibility of parole in a sweeping move that could reshape the future of capital punishment in the state and across the country.

“We can now let these offenders die in obscurity while we forever remember and honor the victims,” Newsom said in an open letter to Californians announcing the decision.

California has the largest death row in the Western Hemisphere, with 548 people facing execution: 529 men and 19 women, according to Newsom's office.

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