California Governor Newsom Commutes Sentences of All 548 Death Row Inmates to Life Imprisonment
California Governor Gavin Newsom has commuted the sentences of all 548 death row inmates in the US state to life imprisonment. In a letter, Newsom said we can now let these criminals fade into oblivion, and remember and honour the victims forever.
The decision is being seen as significant in a state where no execution has been carried out since 2006. Citing his constitutional clemency power to protect California's values and justice system, Newsom said state killing is inconsistent with California's values and weakens the foundation of the legal system.
He described California's death penalty system as 'failed' and said life imprisonment without parole is the harshest and most principled punishment.
Newsom, the Democratic leader of the most populous US state, is being considered a possible candidate in the 2028 presidential election.
Columbia University professor Bernard E Harcourt has drawn a comparison between Newsom's move and the moral stance taken by former French president François Mitterrand in 1981.
Anthony D Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, welcomed the move as the end of a 'racist and inhuman punishment'.
However, Los Angeles County's top prosecutor Nathan Hochman pointed out that voters have twice voted at the ballot to keep the death penalty.
The death penalty remains legal in 27 US states, while 23 states and Washington DC have abolished it. President Donald Trump has supported the death penalty as an 'essential tool' against heinous crimes.
