California prosecutors say they will challenge Governor Gavin Newsom decision to commute all 548 death sentences in the state, and they vow to keep seeking the death penalty in new cases, setting up a legal fight over the largest mass commutation in modern American history. The announcement on Thursday, in the final weeks of Newsom second term, reduced every death sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Prosecutors across the state delivered swift blowback, saying the governor did not notify district attorneys or seek input from victims families, and advocates for victims said they would challenge the move in court.
Why it matters
The legal argument turns on whether a governor can commute hundreds of sentences at once. Anne Marie Schubert, a former Sacramento district attorney who now leads the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, said her group will challenge the mass commutation in court, arguing that each case must be considered on its individual merits. She told reporters the group is doing this on behalf of crime victims and the rule of law. Days before the clemency was granted, opponents sent Newsom a seven page letter, written by Schubert, that included photos of people killed by prisoners now on death row and detailed descriptions of their crimes.
The prosecutors case is strengthened by a practical fact: the commutations are not all effective yet. Under the California Constitution, the state Supreme Court must review clemency for anyone convicted of more than one felony, and that requirement applies to about two thirds of the people affected, 382 cases. Newsom has asked the court to return its recommendations by the end of 2026 so he can issue commutation certificates before his term ends in January. If the court does not act before he leaves office, the unapproved commutations would expire, and the sentences would stand.
What happens next
The political response has been just as sharp. Riverside County District Attorney Michael Hestrin told reporters he will continue to seek the death penalty when appropriate, and he said his office has 20 pending capital cases, including that of Saul Arevalo, convicted of a triple murder. Kern County District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer said prosecutors are examining all of their legal options. Greg Totten of the California District Attorneys Association said the commutation process was never intended to serve as a substitute for the legislative process or to allow one elected official to effectively nullify hundreds of jury verdicts.
What happens next will be decided in courtrooms and in the Supreme Court. About 70 capital cases remain pending statewide, including four in which juries have already recommended death sentences, and prosecutors say they will keep bringing them. The American Civil Liberties Union applauded the governor announcement, and 50 family members of murder victims signed a letter urging universal clemency, so the fight is not one sided. But the legal question is narrow, and it will be answered by judges, not by press releases: can one governor, in one letter, erase 548 jury verdicts at once.
