California Governor Gavin Newsom has moved to grant clemency to 548 people currently sentenced to death in California, according to numbers provided by his office. Of those granted clemency, 529 are men and 19 are women. The sentences will be changed to life in prison without the possibility of parole, though the state Supreme Court will have the final say in hundreds of those cases.
Newsom Cites Limits of Government
Newsom's decision comes as he prepares to leave office after eight years and is expected to become one of the Democrats' frontrunners to run for president in 2028. He said his move came after he realised "the limits of what government can justly accomplish."
"I take this action because I firmly believe that state-sanctioned killing is incompatible with California's values, undermines the foundations of our legal system, and diminishes each of us," Newsom said. He added: "As Governor, I alone bear responsibility for this decision and its impact, just as I alone would bear responsibility for each execution."
Notorious Inmates Among Those Spared
The prisoners granted clemency include Charles Ng, convicted of 11 murders committed with Leonard Lake in one of California's most notorious serial murder cases. Also included are Randy Kraft, known as the "Scorecard Killer", convicted of 16 murders though suspected in many more killings of young men; David Carpenter, known as the "Trailside Killer", convicted of multiple murders and sexual assaults in Northern California; and Joseph Naso, a serial killer known as the "Alphabet Murders" killer, convicted of killing four women in Northern California whose first and last names shared matching initials.
Victims' Advocate Criticises Decision
Patricia Wenskunas, founder of the California advocacy nonprofit Crime Survivors, which opposed the abolition of the death penalty, criticised Newsom's decision. "My heart hurts for every one of the victims and every one of their family members," she said, calling the decision "offensive" and "outrageous."
ACLU Applauds Commutations
The American Civil Liberties Union, which has said the implementation of the death penalty reflects racial bias, applauded the announcement. "These commutations reflect what justice demands: an end to a racist, error-prone, and inhumane punishment that has burdened California for far too long," Executive Director Anthony Romero said in a statement. The ACLU is involved in an ongoing legal challenge to California's death penalty statute, alleging it is racially discriminatory and unconstitutional. Newsom has said in the past that it is wrong for the government to kill its citizens and that capital punishment in practice has discriminated against mentally ill people and people of colour.
