![\"Gov.](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/5p2kr3iz5wx9b1dl.jpg\")
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Having already instituted a moratorium on executions in California, Gov. Gavin Newsom indicated he is considering taking a far more drastic step: commuting the sentences of all 563 individuals currently on the state’s death row.<\/p>\n
88 days left in Newsom’s term <\/p>\n
What they’re saying:<\/p>\n
Speaking on his podcast, Newsom noted that a recent botched execution in Tennessee was on his mind as he weighs the decision.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With 88 days remaining in his term as governor, Newsom raised the existential weight of the choice.<\/p>\n
“I have to prepare for my own consciousness test, my own rocking chair test,” Newsom said. “Do I commute the largest death row in the western hemisphere?”<\/p>\n
The prospect of a blanket commutation has drawn sharp pushback from death penalty advocates.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The other side:<\/p>\n
Representatives from Crime Victims United expressed outrage over the possibility of overturning outcomes reached through the judicial process.<\/p>\n
“We are absolutely disgusted that this governor would be contemplating and most likely doing the commutation of people that are on death row when a judge and a jury have decided that that is the penalty,” said Topo Padilla of Crime Victims United.<\/p>\n
Padilla suggested Newsom’s comments were driven by political ambition rather than legal or moral principles.<\/p>\n
“He’s not weighing it legally or ethically or anything like that,” Padilla said. “He’s weighing it based on what the polls might do as he starts to run for president.”<\/p>\n
Padilla also highlighted the impact on the justice system, pointing out that 563 death row cases represent 6,756 individual jurors who reached unanimous verdicts.<\/p>\n
“What a slap in the face to those who sit on juries now or in the future,” Padilla said.<\/p>\n
Views from the public <\/p>\n
Local perspective:<\/p>\n
Reactions were mixed among members of the public interviewed at the Larkspur Ferry Terminal, though several expressed support for ending capital punishment.<\/p>\n
“It’s a tough call,” said David Bedford. “I have not really reached a decision on that. I saw it and thought about it. Yeah, interesting, I don’t know.”<\/p>\n
“I am not a supporter of the death penalty, so I am inclined to be supportive of him,” said Deborah Churton.<\/p>\n
Henry D’atry voiced a more mixed stance on capital punishment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“I am not opposed to the death sentence. I think that that’s something that actually gives relief to families and it should be out there. But you have to be mindful and cautious on how to use it.”<\/p>\n
Other commuters strongly favored commuting the sentences.<\/p>\n
“I honestly think that is a good option,” said Kim Scarano. “I think it’s more humane. Many may think that’s not a great outcome, but I do.”<\/p>\n
“I’m not sure that personally I would believe in a death sentence for anyone; other punishments perhaps,” added Constance Kent.<\/p>\n
“I think we need to get above the killing mentality, and so I don’t agree with death as a penalty,” said Judy Mason.<\/p>\n
The Source: Information from this story came from statements made by Gavin Newsom, a response from Crime Victims United and interviews with the public.<\/p>\n
Gavin Newsom<\/a>Crime and Public Safety<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Having already instituted a moratorium on executions in California, Gov. Gavin Newsom indicated he is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":490117,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8,2042,457,100,592],"class_list":["post-490116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-crime-publicsafety","tag-gavin-newsom","tag-news","tag-people"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=490116"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490116\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/490117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=490116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=490116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=490116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}