In March 2019, recently elected California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a moratorium on the death penalty, halted executions, took down the execution chamber, and dismissed the state’s execution protocol. He did this, explaining, “I have been openly opposed to the death penalty my whole life, and the people elected me knowing that.”
It was, DPF President Mike Farrell wrote at the time, “a seminal moment for our effort and for our country.” A year later, Newsom authorized the transfer of all 700-plus death-sentenced individuals housed at San Quentin and the Central California Women’s Facility to state prisons around the state, where they were mainstreamed into the general population.
But since these courageous acts, Newsom has been noticeably silent on the death penalty, has shown no inclination to wield his considerable influence on the issue, and has ignored increasing calls for him to use his authority to commute the death sentences of the 580 people still imprisoned.
“The governor has done little to further the end of death penalty recommendations in California,” Robin Epley writes in her Sacramento Bee editorial, “CA’s death penalty is broken, says Newsom. So why won’t he end it for good?” And she notes that, as a result, “The state’s death row inmates sit in a legal purgatory that could revert — or be interminably extended — by the next occupant of the governor’s desk.”
In his Slate editorial, “It’s Been 20 Years Since California’s Last Execution. Gavin Newsom Has the Chance to Make Bigger History,” Austin Sarat notes that the state hasn’t killed anyone since Clarence Ray Allen was executed in 2006. And he applauds Newsom for “[leading] the way in asking citizens of his state to face the death penalty’s manifold injustices.” But, Sarat writes, “the governor needs to go further: To cement the status of the death penalty as a relic in the Golden State, Newsom should issue a wholesale commutation of the death sentences of the more than 500 people who could face execution if a Republican wins the governorship in 2026.” In so doing, “he will deliver the kind of decisive blow against capital punishment that will reverberate across the whole country.”
The supposition is that Newsom plans to run for president in 2028, and his reticence on the issue stems from fears that commuting 580 death sentences could hurt his standing with conservative voters. But a 2025 Gallup Poll https://tinyurl.com/d28uj2yk found that the percentage of Americans who support the death penalty for convicted murderers has been steadily declining over the past three decades, falling from a peak of 80% in 1994 to 52% today. It is the lowest level of support in Gallup’s death penalty trend since 1972, when 50% were in favor.”
So, Newsom, who has made it clear his opposition is firmly rooted in his belief that the death penalty is immoral and indefensible, can and should show the courage he showed in 2019 when he announced the moratorium, and commute the sentences of the 580 people living under a sentence of death.
In announcing the moratorium seven years ago, Newsom explained, “This is about who I am as a human being.” It’s time for him to show his humanity again.
(If you’d like to join the effort urging Gov. Newsom to commute the death sentence of every person imprisoned in California, please sign the “Clemency California” petition at https://clemencyca.org/join/ )