Gov. Gavin Newsom commuted all of California’s death sentences on Thursday, declaring that “state-sanctioned murder is incompatible with” the values of America’s most populous state. In an open letter to voters, Newsom said taking this step is “one of the most difficult of my career.” “I am taking this action because I firmly believe that state-sanctioned murder is incompatible with California values,” he said. California has not executed a prisoner since January 1. 17, 2006, when Clarence Ray Allen was executed by lethal injection. Newsom said his executive action will affect the “548 people now on death row in California,” making up “the largest death row in the Western Hemisphere.” There were 561 inmates on death row as of Tuesday, according to Department of Corrections records. in 1993. Klaas had been kidnapped at knifepoint from her home in Petaluma, north of San Francisco, during a sleepover. The case attracted national attention after it sparked a massive search that ultimately led investigators to Davis, who then directed police to the girl’s body in a shallow grave. Marc Klaas, Polly’s father, said Newsom’s decision is a “knife in the back” to him and the families of other victims who believe death row prisoners were sentenced legally. “It’s incredibly disappointing,” Klaas told NBC News. “When this guy was sentenced to death, they told me it was a system we could trust. But here we are, 33 years later, and it’s a system we can’t trust.” “Today marks a significant moment for human rights in California and across the country,” Daar said. Since the U.S. Supreme Court ended a brief hiatus on capital punishment with its landmark 1976 ruling in Gregg v. In Georgia, there have been 1,687 state executions, according to records from the Death Penalty Information Center. Texas has carried out the most executions in that time, 603, while California has carried out a death sentence only 13 times. “It marks a defining moment in the history of the death penalty in the United States,” Death Penalty Information Center executive director Robin Maher said in a statement. “Although other governors have granted universal pardons, none have been on this scale.” Newsom’s decree, for most death row inmates, would still need approval from the California Supreme Court. Newsom is frequently mentioned as a possible 2028 presidential candidate, and Klaas is keeping an eye on the timing of this announcement. “We’re talking about serial killers, we’re talking about serial killers, we’re talking about cop killers, we’re talking about child killers,” Klaas said. “Why, two days after the midterm elections, does Gavin Newsom feel the need to commute these sentences? Who benefits from this?” San Luis Obispo County Prosecutor Dan Dow said Newsom’s action is an affront to the families of the victims, whose killers were brought to justice by his office. lives matter more,” Dow said in a statement as immediate past president of the California District Attorneys Association. “Juries chose justice on a case-by-case basis, voters chose it five times, and an outgoing governor is trying to erase it all with a pen. “This is a disgusting abuse of power.”
