Governor Gavin Newsom commuted all California death sentences on Thursday, declaring that “state-sanctioned killing is incompatible with” values in America’s most populous state.

In an open letter to constituents, Newsom said, “This decision is among the most difficult of my career”.

“I take this action because I firmly believe that state-sanctioned killing is incompatible with California’s values,” he said.

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California has not put a prisoner to death since January 17, 2006, when Clarence Ray Allen was put to death via lethal injection.

Newsom said his executive action will impact the “548 people now under death sentence in California”, making for “the largest death row in the Western Hemisphere”.

There were 561 inmates on death row in the US as of Tuesday, according to Department of Corrections records.

‘I have concluded the state cannot morally kill them’

“My decision today comes after nearly three decades of openly opposing state-sanctioned executions as an elected official,” Newsom said in his open letter.

“Soon after taking office as Governor of California, on March 13, 2019, I instituted a moratorium on executions. I could not remain true to my values and oversee the killing of people with death warrants in California.”

Newsom acknowledged the seriousness of the crimes committed by death row inmates and the lasting effect on victims and their loved ones.

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“The people sentenced to death in California caused indescribable suffering to victims, their families, communities, and our state as a whole. The harm they inflicted persists across generations,” he said.

“Many Californians feel that those who commit brutal crimes deserve to die. But as governor, I have concluded the state cannot morally kill them.

“I do, however, pray that this action will finally separate the memories of the victims of these crimes from the fate of those who harmed them. We cannot let these offenders die in obscurity while we forever remember and honour their victims.”

“Faithfulness to our values is measured by how we act when it is most difficult to uphold them. For me, this is one of those instances.

All California death row inmates given same new sentence

“By every measure, California’s system for administering the death penalty is a failure. It has not been and cannot be fairly applied and has resulted in the conviction of innocent people. Decades of efforts to repair the system have only compounded its stagnation.

“Because the death penalty is inherently incompatible with our legal system’s commitment to justice, I have determined that this clemency decision, while difficult in many respects, will ultimately affirm the strength and integrity of our state and its justice system.”

California Governor Gavin Newsom has commuted all of the state’s death sentences. Credit: AP

The governor said he had considered amending sentences based on “different categories of capital crimes and offender characteristics” but after speaking with victims ultimately decided not to distinguish between offences and give all death row inmates the same sentence.

“I will therefore issue the same commutation to every condemned person, life without the possibility of parole, the most severe punishment I can lawfully impose and the state of California can ethically enforce. These offenders will die in prison but not by our hand.”

Human rights groups commend Newsom’s move

“This is a day that will be remembered in California’s history and resonate globally for years to come,” Amnesty International USA Executive Directory Nadia Daar said in a statement.

“The death penalty should be abolished, everywhere. Today marks a significant moment for human rights in California and across the country.”

Since the US Supreme Court cleared a brief pause in capital punishment with its landmark 1976 ruling in Gregg v Georgia, there have been 1687 state executions, according to Death Penalty Information Center records.

Texas has carried out the most executions in that time, 603, while California has carried out a death sentence just 13 times.

“Governor Newsom’s announcement marks a decisive moment in the history of the death penalty in the United States,” Death Penalty Information Center Executive Director Robin Maher said in statement. “Though other governors have granted universal clemencies, none have been at this scale.”