LOS ANGELES — National and local Catholic organizations are calling on Gov. Gavin Newsom to commute the death sentences of those currently on California’s death row before his term expires and are organizing a Prayer Walk and Vigil to End the Death Penalty later this week, according to a press release from Catholic Mobilizing Network.
The Prayer Walk and Vigil to End the Death Penalty is scheduled for Saturday and was organized by Friar Chris Ponnet, a pastoral leader who “[advocated] for death penalty abolition,” the release states.
Among the many organizations attending is Catholic Mobilizing Network, which is joining with the Office of Restorative Justice in the Diocese of Orange, Loyola Marymount University and others. Their aim is to “educate California citizens on the realities of the death penalty and the Church’s opposition to the practice.”
Krisianne Vaillancourt Murphy, executive director of Catholic Mobilizing Network, said “this is a critical moment for the state of California,” and highlighted Gov. Newsom’s role in “[commuting] the sentences of the individuals on California’s death row before leaving office.”
In the same statement, Murphy called for Catholics to unite, saying they “are among the cacophony of voices urging him to take this life-saving action.” Additionally, as people of faith, Murphy emphasized their essential role in “[taking] decisive action to defend the dignity of life.”
Catholic Mobilizing Network wrote to late President Joe Biden in 2024, citing Pope Francis’ emphasis on “forgiveness, reconciliation, and an end to every form of death penalty.” CMN urged President Biden to commute the 40 men on federal death row.
In the letter to the president, Catholic Mobilizing Network stated that the federal death row is “marred by significant arbitrariness, including racial bias and the imposition on vulnerable individuals such as those with intellectual disability, brain damage, and serious mental illness.” The organization also highlighted the potential for innocent people to be unjustifiably put to death.
Catholic Mobilizing Network continued in its letter that the death penalty is inadmissible because “it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person.” The organization urged the president to commit to commutations, describing them as a “tangible expression to end the federal death penalty.”
While many have recognized Gov. Newsom’s “committed steps to dismantle the largest death row in the country,” Catholics continue to urge him to commute the death sentences, as those lives still remain at risk.
Emmjolee Mendoza Waters, director of the Death Penalty Abolition Program at Catholic Mobilizing Network, emphasized the importance of hosting public education events in California, stating that “honest conversations [make] the Church’s teaching real,” and also “invite people to take concrete action.”
Waters added, “Public polling data makes it clear that some Catholics don’t know the Church’s emphatic teaching on the death penalty.” She emphasized the need for public education, saying that once people are aware, “they’re more likely to publicly oppose capital punishment.”
The group highlights the rarity of executions in California, citing that the state has had only “13 executions since 1976, with the last execution occurring more than 20 years ago on January 17, 2006.”
It further notes that “California has the largest death row in the country,” while the state has seen fewer people receive death sentences in recent years, with just five new death sentences handed down in 2025.
The group concludes by referencing Gov. Newsom’s previous actions regarding the death penalty, citing his “[integration of] prisoners from death row into general prison populations,” as well as “praise from the Pope for his moratorium.”
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