HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania-based advocates have expressed support for California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s announcement that he intends to commute the death sentences of everyone on the state’s death row, describing the decision as another step toward ending capital punishment.
On Nov. 5, Newsom announced plans to commute the death sentences of 548 people in California. If completed, the action would represent the largest mass commutation of death sentences in U.S. history and affect approximately one-quarter of the nation’s death-sentenced population, according to The Washington Post.
Newsom seeks to convert all California death sentences to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, preventing those individuals from being executed under future administrations. However, the commutations have not yet taken effect.
Under the California Constitution, commutations involving people convicted of two or more felonies require a recommendation from at least four of the seven California Supreme Court justices. Newsom can commute the remaining sentences without that recommendation.
“Many Californians feel that those who commit brutal crimes deserve to die,” Newsom said in his letter to California residents. “But as Governor, I have concluded the state cannot morally kill them.”
A longtime critic of capital punishment, Newsom imposed a moratorium on executions in March 2019, citing concerns about racial disparities, wrongful convictions and the fairness of the death penalty system.
He has argued that capital punishment is incompatible with California’s values and undermines the principles of justice and human decency.
California last carried out an execution in 2006. At the time of Newsom’s announcement, 548 people remained under death sentences in the state, the largest death-sentenced population in the nation and the Western Hemisphere.
According to The Guardian, approximately 220 people sentenced to death had waited more than 15 years for constitutionally required legal representation, including 139 who had waited more than two decades.
The California Wrongful Convictions Project, launched by the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law and Hollway Advisory Services, has documented more than 200 wrongful convictions in California since 1989.
Jeanne Woodford, a former California corrections director who oversaw four executions as warden of San Quentin State Prison, applauded Newsom’s announcement.
“As someone who has carried out executions in California, I am haunted by the fear that we will execute an innocent person,” Woodford said.
Tennessee’s failed attempt to execute Christa Pike further intensified debate over capital punishment. Pike survived an execution attempt on Sept. 30 after receiving two doses of the lethal-injection drug pentobarbital.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee subsequently suspended the state’s remaining scheduled execution for 2026 and ordered an independent review. The failed execution raised renewed concerns about lethal-injection procedures and the possibility of unconstitutional suffering, according to The Guardian.
Of the 27 states that retain capital punishment, several have imposed executive moratoriums on executions, including Pennsylvania.
In 2015, former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf instituted a moratorium on executions, and his successor, Josh Shapiro, announced its continuation in 2023.
Shapiro also called on the Pennsylvania General Assembly to repeal the death penalty, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
“The system is fallible, and the outcome is irreversible,” Shapiro said. “The Commonwealth shouldn’t be in the business of putting people to death. Period. I believe that in my heart. This is a fundamental statement of morality. Of what’s right and wrong. And I believe Pennsylvania must be on the right side of this issue.”
“Executive clemency reflects principled leadership focused on evidence-based justice and effective public safety,” said Kathleen Lucas, executive director of Pennsylvanians Against the Death Penalty.
“As in Pennsylvania, California’s death penalty is indefensible. It’s arbitrary, expensive, and leads to innocent people being sentenced to death. The experiences with capital punishment are the same in California, Pennsylvania, and around the country. The same problems exist everywhere with this system.”
Although Newsom’s decision has drawn political opposition and legal debate over the commutation process, numerous advocates and civil liberties organizations have expressed support.
“Capital punishment is a failed public policy. Governor Newsom recognizes it. Governor Shapiro recognizes it. And more and more Pennsylvanians are realizing that we can do without the death penalty,” said Frances Harvey, executive director of the Atlantic Center for Capital Representation.
“We’ve seen over the course of decades that Pennsylvania’s failure to adequately fund public defense has led directly to death sentences.”
“Governor Newsom’s historic action shows the type of moral leadership Americans expect and appreciate from their elected officials,” said Robert Dunham, director of the Death Penalty Policy Project.
“Governor Shapiro’s principled stance against the death penalty shows the same type of moral leadership. We are hopeful he will capitalize on the momentum from the California clemency and Tuesday’s election to persuade the legislature to move forward on his call to end the death penalty in Pennsylvania.”
The election of Democratic governors in four states that retain capital punishment and were previously governed by Republicans could create additional opportunities for executive action restricting executions, although any changes would depend on the incoming administrations’ policies and state laws.
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