Governor Gavin Newsom’s decision to commute California’s death sentences is a necessary and courageous step. The death penalty is morally wrong and it has no place in a civilized society.
A government that condemns killing cannot answer violence by killing in its own name. The state’s authority to punish does not give it the moral authority to take a life and commuting these sentences recognizes that distinction. It changes the punishment to life in prison without the possibility of parole, preserving accountability while ending the threat of execution.
This position does not minimize the pain of victims’ families or excuse the terrible harm caused by the crimes involved. Their grief deserves compassion, respect, and lasting support. But no execution can restore a loved one or undo that harm. The state should not ask victims’ families to find meaning or healing in another death.
The death penalty is irreversible, yet courts and juries can make mistakes. It is also applied unevenly, with outcomes shaped by race, geography, wealth, and access to strong legal representation. A system that cannot guarantee either accuracy or equal treatment cannot deliver justice.
California has not carried out an execution since 2006. Yet the state has continued to maintain death sentences through a costly, prolonged system that offers no public safety benefit. Newsom’s decision ends the possibility of execution for 548 people, subject to required California Supreme Court approval in 382 cases. It does not release them from prison or erase their convictions.
At the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, we believe justice should protect communities, recognize harm, and uphold human dignity. The death penalty fails that test. Commuting these sentences is not a rejection of accountability. It is a rejection of state killing as a form of justice.
The civilized response to violence is not to repeat it. California should move forward with a justice system that holds people accountable without taking life in the name of the law.