# Newsom Commutes All 548 Death Sentences, Including Notorious Killers

- URL: https://twotakes.us/stories/newsom-commutes-all-548-death-sentences-including-notorious-killers
- Published: 2026-11-07T02:07:59.912407+00:00
- Topics: death-penalty, gavin-newsom, california, criminal-justice, clemency

## What the left says
- California's death penalty system has been plagued by wrongful convictions, racial bias, and decades-long delays, making it fundamentally unfair and unreliable as a form of justice.
- State-sanctioned killing is morally incompatible with California's values regardless of the severity of the crimes committed, and ending it reflects a broader commitment to human dignity even for the state's worst offenders.
- Victims' families can still find closure knowing offenders will die in prison, since life without parole ensures they never walk free while removing the state from the business of executions.
- This action follows years of incremental steps, including the 2019 moratorium, and represents a consistent, principled stance rather than a sudden or politically timed reversal.

## What the right says
- California voters explicitly rejected efforts to abolish the death penalty at the ballot box in both 2012 and 2016, and this unilateral action overrides the democratic will of the electorate.
- Some of the state's most notorious killers, including child murderers and serial killers, will now avoid the punishment that juries and courts determined they deserved for their crimes.
- Victims' families feel betrayed and disrespected, viewing this as prioritizing the comfort of convicted murderers over the suffering and justice owed to those they killed.
- The timing, announced right after the election and late in a term-limited governor's tenure while he eyes a 2028 presidential run, raises questions about political calculation rather than pure principle.

## Common ground
- California has not carried out an execution since 2006, and the state currently holds the largest death row population in the Western Hemisphere.
- The commutations affect 548 people, 529 men and 19 women, converting their sentences to life without the possibility of parole rather than release.
- Roughly 70% of the cases require approval from the California Supreme Court because they involve offenders with multiple felony convictions.
- This is one of the most consequential and difficult decisions of Newsom's governorship, with real and lasting impact on crime victims' families.

## Sources
- [ABC News](https://abcnews.com/US/wireStory/california-gov-newsom-commute-death-sentences-state-life-137888476) (Lean Left)
- [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)
- [Blaze Media](https://www.theblaze.com/news/newsom-death-sentence-california) (Right)
- [Breitbart](https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/11/05/gavin-newsom-commute-548-california-death-sentences/) (Unknown)
- [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 Hill](https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/6202199-california-gov-gavin-newsom-to-commute-all-death-sentences-in-state/) (Center)

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