The Independent reported that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) welcomed Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to commute 548 death sentences, even as it challenges California’s death penalty law.
Newsom announced the plan Nov. 5. His filing asks the California Supreme Court to recommend commutations for 382 people with more than one felony conviction. At least four justices must concur before the governor can grant them.
If granted, recipients would serve life without parole. Their convictions and restitution orders would remain in force, and capital punishment would remain available in future cases, as earlier EconoTimes coverage of the court process and sentence terms explains.
California’s last execution took place Jan. 17, 2006. Voters rejected a 2016 ballot measure to repeal the death penalty, and Newsom imposed a moratorium on executions in 2019. In his letter, he said executions conflict with California’s values and undermine its legal system.
In a statement cited by The Independent, ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero called the death penalty “racist, error-prone and inhumane.” The group’s ongoing challenge alleges that California’s law is racially discriminatory and unconstitutional.
The state has not announced when the court will consider the request or when any commutation could take effect.