California’s governor opened a historic clemency fight on Thursday. In an open letter to Californians dated Nov. 5, 2026, Gavin Newsom wrote that he had decided to exercise his constitutional clemency authority to commute all California death sentences to life without the possibility of parole. The governor’s news page and the standing clemency page carry the same announcement. CalMatters, the BBC, and Law Commentary reported the decision the same day. This desk read the letter PDF, the fact sheet, the explanatory statement, and the court-request package as saved copies.
The letter sets the scale in Newsom’s own words. He wrote that the 548 people now under sentence of death in California “make up the largest death row in the Western Hemisphere.” The fact sheet matches that head count and breaks it into 529 men and 19 women. Newsom also wrote that soon after taking office, on March 13, 2019, he instituted a moratorium on executions, and that California last executed anyone in 2006. The fact sheet dates that last execution to January 17, 2006.
Newsom framed the choice as conscience against a failed system. In the open letter he wrote: “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.” Later he wrote: “These offenders will die in prison but not by our hand.” He also wrote that the action “does not repeal the death penalty and is limited to commuting California’s current death sentences,” and that repeal power “rests with the Legislature and voters.”
Watch: PBS NewsHour on the California commutations, via @NewsHour on X
If the embed does not load, it shows as a plain link to the original post. The clip does not replace the governor’s letter above, and this desk did not verify every second of the video.
View the @NewsHour post on X
The legal clock has not finished. The clemency page states that the commutations “will not go into effect until the necessary legal steps are completed.” The Habeas Corpus Resource Center, in a Nov. 5 explainer, likewise writes that the governor has not yet formally commuted any sentences and has indicated he plans to do so. HCRC adds that for people without a separate felony conviction — approximately 30% of those under a death sentence — the governor can commute unilaterally, while people with a separate felony conviction need a recommendation from four justices of the California Supreme Court under article V, section 8.
The court package puts a hard number on that second group. The explanatory statement says the governor requests the court’s recommendation for 382 condemned people convicted of more than one felony. Law Commentary reports the same 382 figure and writes that Newsom can act on the remaining 166 without that approval, and that he has asked for the court’s recommendation by the end of 2026 so he can finish before his term ends in January. CalMatters wrote more loosely that “nearly 400” cases need four of seven justices to sign off.
What the commutation does — and does not do — sits in the fact sheet in plain bullets. The action, the sheet says, does not release anyone from prison, make anyone eligible for parole, pardon anyone, or change the underlying conviction or restitution order. It also says the individuals stand specifically excluded from eligibility for new Board of Parole Hearings commutation and resentencing regulations. CalMatters quoted Newsom’s line that the offenders “will die in prison but not by our hand,” and noted that exclusion as an answer to prosecutors and victims’ groups who feared later release chances.
Support and opposition arrived at once. The BBC quoted ACLU executive director Anthony D. Romero calling the commutations “what justice demands” and an end to “a racist, error-prone, and inhumane punishment.” The BBC also quoted Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman saying that while Newsom has power to commute sentences, “only state legislature or voters can eliminate the death penalty,” and that Californians kept the penalty on two ballot initiatives. CalMatters quoted Anne Marie Schubert of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation pledging a challenge in the state Supreme Court and calling the move “the most grotesque violation of victims’ rights I’ve ever seen,” and it quoted Crime Victims United president Topo Padilla opposing undoing jury sentences for personal belief. CalMatters also noted Jess Nichol, sister of Polly Klaas, supporting the decision while Marc Klaas, Polly’s father, described the prospect as terribly upsetting.
National framing differs by outlet. CalMatters and the BBC both credit the Death Penalty Information Center with calling the action the largest mass clemency of death sentences in U.S. history, if it sticks. CalMatters compared it with then-President Joe Biden’s 2024 commutation of 37 of 40 federal death-row prisoners. The BBC noted that Newsom’s term ends in January and that fellow Democrat Xavier Becerra stands projected to take over after the midterms. This desk did not treat any 2028 presidential speculation as a verified plan.
Primary documents still govern the next steps. The governor posted the open letter, a fact sheet, an explanatory statement, a letter to the California Supreme Court, and recipient lists on the clemency page. Victim services contact sits on that page as victimservices@cdcr.ca.gov and 1-877-256-6877. This desk read those PDFs as saved files; the Associated Press page timed out on fetch, so AP appears only via a search excerpt in the ledger. Times convert to Pacific Time (UTC−8).