By The Haitian Tribune Staff
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom says he plans to commute the death sentences of all 548 people on California’s death row, changing their punishment to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Newsom said he opposes capital punishment on moral grounds. The decision would affect the largest death row in the Western Hemisphere, according to Reuters.
The governor imposed a moratorium on executions in 2019. California has not executed a prisoner since 2006, though the death penalty remains part of state law and could be reinstated under a future governor unless lawmakers or voters abolish it.
Commuting the sentences would not release the prisoners. They would remain incarcerated for life, while the legal status of capital punishment in California would remain unchanged.
by the Haitian Tribune Newsroom
