Victoria Valenzuela Subsatck
After years of abolitionists pushing for Newsom to keep his 2019 promise to end the death penalty in California, their efforts were successful.
In 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom said that he was committed to ending the death penalty in California. Just days after a new governor was elected, incumbent Newsom made good on that promise. He granted clemency to remaining death sentences, sparing the lives of all 548 people sentenced to death in the state. Up until now, California had the largest death row population in the Western Hemisphere.
There is no doubt today’s win is in large part due to the many death penalty abolitionists in the state and nationwide who were pressuring Newsom to make the commutations. The California Anti-Death Penalty Coalition, a diverse coalition of nearly 200 faith, racial justice, civic, legal, and labor organizations, as well as murder victims’ family members and families affected by the death penalty, were leading such calls.
Advocates said that death penalty is racist, as it disproportionately is applied to Black people, and also kills innocent people in some cases, as there have been more than 200 death row exonerations.
They held a vigil outside the California State Capitol with more than 500 candles to represent each person serving a death sentence, brought civil rights and faith leaders to meet with the governor’s office, did art campaigns, and delivered a petition with more than 33,000 signatures on its petition for Newsom to enact universal clemency.
Even other countries such as Pakistan, Italy, Canada, Somalia, and the United Kingdom as well as a coalition of countries in Africa called on Newsom to commute the death sentences for the message it would send globally.
In his letter to the public about the clemencies, Newsom acknowledged that people sentenced to death caused harm but said that the state cannot morally kill those sentenced to death, and that he could not remain true to his values and oversee the killing of people with death warrants in California. He stated:
“After nearly 30 years in public office, I have come to understand the limits of what government can justly accomplish. 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. I know we cannot execute people in our imperfect legal system and remain true to our core values, first among them justice and human decency.”
However, the work is not over. In a press release, Natasha Minsker, an attorney and member of the California Anti-Death Penalty Coalition, stated that there are still steps ahead to commute all sentences:
Governor Newsom’s announcement today marks the first step for commuting death sentences. Today, the governor provided official notice to victims’ family members and district attorneys. After ten days, he will commute about one-third of death sentences on his own. The other two-thirds require concurrence from the California Supreme Court. The governor submitted those cases to the Court today. Once the Court has ruled, he can move forward with full commutation.
Earlier this year, Minsker told Prism that people with death penalty sentences were carrying a heavy burden of despair and worthlessness:
“You have this image of the death penalty hanging over you every single day, and you’ve been told by society that you are worthless and don’t even deserve to live,” Minsker said. “No one should have to live like that.”
Still, there is no denying this is a step forward to end the death penalty, and the victory is reaffirming the tireless work the abolitionists have been doing for years.
In a press release, Laura Porter, Executive Director of the U.S. Campaign to End the Death Penalty, said:
“We are grateful that Governor Newsom, like other Republican and Democratic leaders across the country, has decided to grant clemency to individuals on death row. The historic number of commuted sentences would set a new record and offer an acknowledgement that the death penalty process is flawed.”
The sentiment is echoed and supported by some families of victims, whose killer will be commuted by Newsom’s actions. Jess Nichol, whose sister Polly Klaas was killed in Petaluma, said:
“I won’t pretend I’ve always opposed the death penalty. I used to think the man who killed my sister deserved execution. But over time I’ve realized that whether he’s executed has absolutely nothing to do with my recovery or with real public safety. The system tells survivors that execution matters to our healing. It doesn’t. It’s a distraction from what we actually need.”
Other abolitionists said the same thing. Sister Helen Prejean, national advocate for the end of the death penalty, said she had accompanied many individuals to their executions and seen the impacts firsthand. She said she is joined by hundreds of California faith leaders from all faiths that their prayers have been answered. Similarly, Jeanne Woodford, who used to carry out executions, had concerns that the death penalty could kill an innocent person and expressed relief that now that could never happen in California.
Additionally, Martin Luther King, III, human rights activist and eldest son of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said:
“As Governor Newsom has said, ‘the death penalty is by all measures a failure.’ The death penalty discriminates against people who are mentally ill, Black and Brown, or can’t afford a lawyer. It does not make us safer and it wastes billions of dollars. It is irreversible and irrevocable, putting innocent lives at risk. I thank Governor Newsom for his commendable actions today, which truly reflect the spirit of my father Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s commitment to equality, civil rights, and nonviolence.”
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