Gov. Gavin Newsom, in one of his last acts in office, commuted the sentences of all prisoners on California's death row, affecting 548 inmates.
Newsom described capital punishment as morally objectionable, and the decision converts each death sentence into a life sentence without the possibility of parole, though the full details of the commutations were not included in the source material.
The 548 inmates represent about a quarter of all death sentences nationwide, making California's death row the largest in the country and the move one of the most sweeping clemency actions by a governor in recent years.
The decision is likely to draw strong reactions from both supporters of abolition, who have long argued that the death penalty is flawed and costly, and from victims' families and prosecutors, who have pressed for executions to be carried out. Newsom's action underscores how the question of capital punishment remains a central and divisive issue in American politics and criminal justice.
Source: New York Times Top Stories · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing