Can a single executive decision permanently override the decades-long verdicts of juries and voters?

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Yes—on sentence, not on guilt, and not necessarily forever. Under the California Constitution, the governor has broad clemency power to commute sentences. That means Gavin Newsom can reduce punishment from death to life without parole without undoing the underlying murder convictions. The jury verdicts still stand, and the inmates are not being released. Restitution orders also remain in place. But this does not erase the voters’ past decisions to keep capital punishment on the books. California voters rejected repeal in 2012 and 2016, and the death penalty statute still exists. Prosecutors may still seek death in future cases, juries may still impose it, and only voters or the Legislature can abolish capital punishment outright. In that sense, the move overrides existing death judgments case by case, but it does not repeal the law those judgments were based on. It is also not entirely a one-person final act. Roughly 382 of the 548 commutations require approval from at least four California Supreme Court justices because those inmates have multiple felony convictions. So a large share of the order still depends on judicial signoff. The practical effect is still enormous. If fully completed, it would be the largest mass commutation in U.S. history and would formalize what has already been true for years: California has not executed anyone since 2006, and executions have been halted under a moratorium since 2019. So the governor can dramatically alter punishment with one sweep…

California DAs Threaten Legal Fight Over Newsom's 548 Death Row Commutations

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California DAs Threaten Legal Fight Over Newsom's 548 Death Row Commutations

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