SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A civil rights legal organization on Thursday praised California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s announced intention to commute every death sentence in the state, a move the group said will affect about 550 people on what it called the largest death row in the Western Hemisphere.
The Equal Justice Society, a national racial justice organization based in California, said in a Nov. 5 statement that the governor had formally notified victims’ family members and district attorneys of his plan.
According to the group, Newsom will commute about one-third of the sentences on his own after a 10-day period. The remaining two-thirds require the agreement of the California Supreme Court, and the governor submitted those cases to the court the same day, the group said.
“This is a momentous victory for justice, humanity, and the estimated 550 individuals and families,” said Lisa Holder, the organization’s president. She said too many of those affected are Black and Latino.
Holder called capital punishment “an antiquated, violent system of state torture” and said it runs against what she described as California’s values of redemption and second chances.
“Today, California demonstrated the moral courage to lead the nation toward doing what is right,” she said.
The group said the commutations advance recommendations of the California Reparations Task Force. It credited a coalition campaign that included a “commute the row” rally at the State Capitol last year, and thanked Natasha Minsker and the California Anti-Death Penalty Coalition.
“We will continue this fight until capital punishment is abolished once and for all,” Holder said.
Newsom imposed a moratorium on executions in California in 2019. New Jersey abolished the death penalty in 2007.
This report is based on information from the Equal Justice Society.
Source: Equal Justice Society
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