Gavin Newsom just wiped out California's entire death row
In a move that feels like a massive historical mic drop, the governor is trying to commute every single death sentence in the state.
California currently holds the largest death row in the Western Hemisphere, which is a weird trophy to have. Gavin Newsom Newsom decided he’s done with it, announcing a plan to commute all 548 death sentences to life in prison without parole.
He’s calling the state's current system a total failure that’s prone to convicting innocent people. It is a massive pivot, but there is a catch: because the majority of these inmates have multiple felony convictions, the state Supreme Court actually has to sign off on the plan before it sticks.
If the court blocks the move, it effectively expires the moment he leaves office in a couple of months. It’s a gamble that forces the judiciary to either own the state's execution machinery or let it quietly retire.
Justice is rarely this loud, and even less often this bureaucratic.
Source: UPI
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