Governor Gavin Newsom Commutes 548 Death Row Sentences

California Governor Gavin Newsom just commuted the sentences of five hundred forty-eight prisoners on death row to life without parole. That single act wipes out about a quarter of the entire nation's death row population in one fell swoop. Here is the catch. State law only lets him grant blanket commutations to offenders with one felony. The California Supreme Court must approve the rest who have multiple felonies. Former Sacramento district attorney Anne Marie Schubert plans to sue the governor over this move. She argues that Newsom violated the law by not considering each case separately. Meanwhile, some families of victims find comfort in the finality of the decision after decades of waiting. Others feel completely reopened wounds.