Newsom said in a letter announcing the move: “I take this action because I firmly believe that state-sanctioned killing is incompatible with California’s values, undermines the foundations of our legal system, and diminishes each of us.”<\/p>\n
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The state constitution requires the California Supreme Court’s approval to grant clemency to anyone convicted of a felony more than once, which means the court would have to approve 382 of those commutations, or roughly 70%, according to Newsom’s office.<\/p>\n
In 2019, Newsom placed a moratorium on executions in California but hundreds of people remained on death row – 529 of whom are men and 19 are women.<\/p>\n
No one has been executed in the state since 2006 and California has the largest death row in the Western Hemisphere.<\/p>\n
He called the latest decision one of the most difficult choices of his career, given it will trigger painful memories for crime victims’ families.<\/p>\n
Newsom – who is expected to seek \u2060his party’s \u200bpresidential nomination in \u200b2028 – added: “As governor, I alone bear responsibility for this decision and its impact, just as I alone would bear responsibility for each execution.”<\/p>\n
The American Civil Liberties Union welcomed the announcement.<\/p>\n
Its executive director Anthony Romero said: “These commutations reflect what justice demands: an end to a racist, error-prone, and inhumane punishment that has burdened California for far too long.”<\/p>\n
The ACLU previously challenged California’s death penalty statute, calling it racially discriminatory and unconstitutional.<\/p>\n
Newsom said in the past that capital punishment discriminated against people of colour and the mentally ill.<\/p>\n
In September, convicted murderer Christa Pike survived two lethal injections in Tennessee after spending three decades on death row.<\/p>\n
The 50-year-old was given two doses of pentobarbital<\/a><\/strong>, a lethal drug used by the US state in executions.<\/p>\n State governor Bill Lee ordered an investigation into what happened during the failed execution and suspended all remaining scheduled executions this year.<\/p>\n The death penalty in still in place in 27 US states, though executions are concentrated in a handful.<\/p>\n More than 20 states across the country have abolished capital punishment altogether.<\/p>\n Source: \u00a0![\"Sky](\"http:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/sky-news-logo-1.png\"){kind=logo}
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