Criminal
Oct. 26, 2026
Gov. Newsom's commutation options
Gov. Gavin Newsom has three options for California's condemned inmates: do nothing, commute roughly half or attempt to commute them all. Each carries political and legal complications.
David A. Carrillo
Executive Director
California Constitution Center at Berkeley Law.
Email: carrillo@law.berkeley.edu
Brandon V. Stracener
Attorney in private practice and a Senior Research Fellow
Berkeley Law's California Constitution Center
We speculate that whatever decision California Gov. Gavin Newsom might make about the state's condemned inmates will happen soon, but not before the Nov. 3 election. This article details the various factors that can weigh on his thoughts. Let's first stipulate that every condemned inmate was convicted of awful crimes and that those convictions and death judgments have been affirmed on appeal. Let's also stipulate that we're not discussing guilt or innocence, the flaws in th...
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