SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Equal Justice Society, a civil rights legal organization, on Thursday praised California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s announcement that he intends to commute every death sentence in the state, a move the group said affects the largest death row in the Western Hemisphere.
According to the group, Newsom gave official notice of the plan on Nov. 5 to victims’ family members and to district attorneys. The group said the governor will commute about one-third of the sentences on his own authority after 10 days, while the remaining two-thirds require the concurrence of the California Supreme Court. Newsom submitted those cases to the court the same day, the group said.
The organization estimated that about 550 people and their families would be affected, and said many of those facing execution are Black and Latinx.
EJS President Lisa Holder called the decision “a momentous victory for justice, humanity,” and described capital punishment as “an antiquated, violent system of state torture.”
Holder also said that commuting the sentences “directly advances the California Reparations Task Force’s recommendations.” The group thanked advocates who had rallied at the State Capitol urging the governor to commute the sentences, and credited Natasha Minsker and the California Anti-Death Penalty Coalition for their work on the issue.
Newsom placed a moratorium on executions in California in 2019; New Jersey abolished capital punishment in 2007.
This report is based on information from the Equal Justice Society.
Source: Equal Justice Society
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