California governor commutes sentences of more than 500 people on death row
Summary
California Governor Gavin Newsom announced plans to commute the sentences of all 548 people on the state’s death row to life without parole. The commutations would be the largest mass clemency in U.S. history, but about two-thirds require review by the California Supreme Court before they become final.Key Facts
- California has not executed a prisoner in 20 years, according to the article.
- The commutations would reduce the number of people on death row nationally by nearly 30 percent.
- California has the largest death row in the country.
- State law requires the California Supreme Court to review clemency for people with multiple felony convictions.
- The Death Penalty Information Center says California spent $6 billion on the death penalty from 1978 while carrying out 13 executions.
- The center says at least 203 people sentenced to death in the United States have been exonerated since 1973.
- A Pew Research Center poll released in August found that 66 percent of Americans supported the death penalty for people convicted of murder.
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