Gavin Newsom Commutes Sentences of All 548 Death Row Inmates in California

Governor Gavin Newsom just commuted the sentences of all 548 prisoners on death row in California in what is one of the largest single-day acts of clemency in U.S. history ... but that doesn't mean they're being freed from prison.

Newsom detailed his decision in an open letter Thursday, writing ... "State-sanctioned killing is incompatible with California's values, undermines the foundations of our legal system and diminishes each of us."

The governor added ... "I know we cannot execute people in our imperfect legal system and remain true to our core values, first among them justice and human decency."

Newsom said that while many Californians believe that those who commit brutal crimes deserve to die ... he felt as governor that the state cannot morally kill them.

He continued ... "I will therefore issue the same commutation to every condemned person -- life without the possibility of parole, the most severe punishment I can lawfully impose and the state of California can ethically enforce. These offenders will die in prison but not by our hands."

Former President Joe Biden previously commuted the sentences of roughly 1,500 people in Dec. 2024 ... and Oklahoma voters approved a referendum in Nov. 2019 that released or commuted the sentences for 527 inmates -- with 462 released early.

Newsom's commutations come just months after he's set to depart the governorship after completing his second term, with newly elected Dem Xavier Becerra taking over the reins in Jan. 2027.