Newsom moves to commute all 548 California death sentences

Overview

Updated 1 hour ago

California has 548 people under a death sentence. It has executed 13 of them since voters reinstated capital punishment in 1978, and none since 2006. On November 5, 2026, Governor Gavin Newsom said he will commute every one of those sentences to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The order is not entirely his to give. About 382 of the 548 were convicted of more than one felony, and the state constitution requires a recommendation from four of the seven California Supreme Court justices before those commutations can take effect. The court currently has six justices.

Why it matters

If the commutations hold, California's death row becomes a life-without-parole population and the state stops paying for death penalty appeals.

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Key Indicators

548

People under a California death sentence

529 men and 19 women, according to the governor's office.

382

Commutations requiring court recommendation

People with more than one felony conviction, who need four Supreme Court justices to concur.

Executions in California since 1978

The last was in 2006.

Seated California Supreme Court justices

The court has a vacancy, and four concurring votes are needed.

Voices

Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.

People Involved

Gavin Newsom

Governor of California

Term-limited; leaves office in January 2027

Nathan Hochman

Los Angeles County District Attorney

Opposes the commutations

Keith Doolin

Death row inmate, sentenced 1996

Would be resentenced to life without parole

Organizations Involved

Supreme Court of California

State appellate court

Must recommend commutation for 382 of the 548

The court's role is a constitutional check on clemency, not a review of whether clemency is deserved.

California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation

State prison agency

Holds the 548 condemned people

The agency that would carry out executions and now holds the population whose sentences are being converted.

Habeas Corpus Resource Center

State agency providing counsel in capital cases

Tracks death row population and clemency process

The agency whose published count of 548 is the figure the governor's office is using.

Timeline

1978 November 2026

4 events Latest: Yesterday

Tap a bar to jump to that date

November 2026
Newsom announces mass commutation
Latest Clemency

He says all 548 death sentences will become life without parole, and sends 382 cases to the Supreme Court.
Yesterday
March 2019
Newsom halts executions
Executive action

The new governor orders a moratorium that lasts until he leaves office.
March 2019
2006
California's last execution
Execution

The state carries out its 13th execution since reinstatement. None have followed.
2006
1978
Voters reinstate the death penalty
Ballot measure

California voters restore capital punishment, reversing a 1972 state Supreme Court ruling.
1978

Scenarios

Court signs off and all 548 sentences become life without parole

Possible Resolves by Q2 2027

Discussed by: Governor's office, Habeas Corpus Resource Center, ACLU

Four or more justices recommend commutation for the 382 people with multiple felonies, and Newsom issues certificates for them plus the roughly 166 he can act on alone. The death row population converts to life without parole, and the state's death penalty statute remains on the books but unused.

Court splits, leaving hundreds of death sentences in place

Uncertain Resolves by Q2 2027

Discussed by: Law.com, CalMatters reporting on the court's review

The court has no procedure for a single request covering hundreds of people and is short one justice. It could decline to recommend, recommend only some, or ask the governor to submit individual requests. Any of those outcomes leaves a substantial part of death row under sentence of death.

Legislature or voters abolish the death penalty outright

Unlikely Resolves by Nov 30, 2028

Discussed by: Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman

Hochman's objection points to the gap the commutations leave open: the statute survives, so future prosecutors can still seek death sentences. Closing that gap requires a ballot measure or legislation, which would make the commutations permanent as a matter of state law rather than case-by-case clemency.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

February 1972

People v. Anderson (1972)

The California Supreme Court ruled 6-1 that the death penalty violated the state constitution's ban on cruel or unusual punishment. The decision emptied a death row of roughly 100 men, and their sentences were reduced.

Then

Every death sentence in the state was voided.

Now

Voters responded that November by approving a constitutional amendment restoring capital punishment, and the legislature reenacted a death penalty statute in 1977.

Why this matters now

California has cleared its death row before, and the reversal was undone at the ballot box within a year. It shows how quickly a clemency-based change can be answered by a statutory one.

March 2011

Illinois abolishes the death penalty (2011)

Governor Pat Quinn signed legislation ending capital punishment and, on the same day, commuted the sentences of all 167 people on the state's death row to life without parole. Illinois had halted executions in 2000 after investigations found defendants had been tortured into confessions and others were wrongly convicted.

Then

Illinois became the 16th state without the death penalty, and its death row emptied in a single act.

Now

The commutations held, and no later Illinois governor restored capital punishment.

Why this matters now

The closest precedent for what Newsom is attempting: a governor using clemency to clear an entire death row, paired with a political case for ending the practice.