# Newsom Commutes All 548 Death Sentences, Including Child Killers

- URL: https://twotakes.us/stories/newsom-commutes-all-548-death-sentences-including-child-killers
- Published: 2026-11-07T08:06:28.854635+00:00
- Topics: death-penalty, gavin-newsom, california, criminal-justice, clemency

## What the left says
- California's death penalty system has never been fairly applied and has produced wrongful convictions, disproportionately affecting people of color, the mentally ill, and the poor.
- No execution has occurred in California since 2006, making death sentences a prolonged, costly limbo rather than functioning punishment, while life without parole ensures offenders never walk free.
- State-sanctioned killing conflicts with core values of justice and human decency, and victims' memories are better honored by letting perpetrators die in obscurity rather than through further bloodshed.
- This decision follows precedent set by other Democratic governors and the Biden administration's own commutations of federal death sentences, reflecting a broader moral reckoning with capital punishment.

## What the right says
- California voters explicitly rejected ballot measures to abolish the death penalty in both 2012 and 2016, and this unilateral action overrides the will of the electorate.
- Juries carefully weighed the evidence in each of these 548 cases individually and determined death was the appropriate sentence, including for notorious child murderers and serial killers.
- Victims' families who spent years anticipating justice are being told, in effect, that their loved ones' killers' lives matter more than the pain of this reversal.
- This sweeping clemency arrives conveniently at the end of Newsom's term and amid speculation about a 2028 presidential run, raising questions about political motivation versus principled governance.

## Common ground
- California has not carried out an execution since 2006, regardless of the formal status of death sentences.
- The commutations affect 548 inmates, and a majority of those cases require California Supreme Court approval due to multiple felony convictions.
- The scale of this action represents the largest mass commutation of death sentences in U.S. history.
- Victims' families and their suffering deserve acknowledgment regardless of one's view on the death penalty itself.

## Sources
- [AllSides](https://www.allsides.com/news/2026-11-05-0800/criminal-justice-gavin-newsom-lets-all-californias-561-death-row-inmates-escape-ultimate-punishment) (Center)
- [Axios](https://www.axios.com/2026/11/05/newsom-california-death-penalty-2028) (Lean Left)
- [Breitbart](https://www.breitbart.com/law-and-order/2026/11/06/gavin-newsoms-mass-commutation-of-death-row-inmates-faces-legal-battle-pushback-from-prosecutors/) (Right)
- [Daily Wire](https://www.dailywire.com/news/newsom-moves-to-empty-californias-death-row) (Right)
- [Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/sites/zacharyfolk/2026/11/05/gavin-newsom-commutes-death-sentences-of-all-548-people-on-california-death-row/) (Lean Right)
- [HuffPost](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/gavin-newsom-california-death-row_n_6aecdf0de4b08d8d4a8ee4c4) (Left)
- [The Daily Signal](https://www.dailysignal.com/2026/11/06/newsoms-outrageous-death-row-commutations-offer-larger-lesson-about-progressive-governance/) (Right)
- [The Daily Signal](https://www.dailysignal.com/2026/11/06/newsom-commutes-548-inmates/) (Right)
- [Blaze Media](https://www.theblaze.com/news/newsom-death-sentence-california) (Right)

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