A coalition of 46 international organizations from around the world today issued an open letter to California Governor Gavin Newsom, urging him to take action to commute all death sentences in the state, a move they say would significantly change the face of the death penalty in the U.S., as well as create new global momentum toward abolition.
The organizations, representing members of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty from across the world, called on the governor to use his remaining months in office to permanently remove the threat of execution for the more than 550 people currently under sentence of death in California.
The letter praised Governor Newsom’s longstanding opposition to capital punishment, as also shown through his 2019 establishment of a moratorium on executions in California and urged him to take meaningful action in what it described as an “unmissable opportunity to leave an enduring mark on the death penalty.” California holds more than 25% of the people sentenced to death in the United States.
“Governor Newsom has already demonstrated leadership by establishing a moratorium on executions in California,” said Nadia Daar, Executive Director of Amnesty International USA, who met with the governor’s office earlier in the week. ”Commuting all death sentences is the right thing to do, and its impact would not just be for those hundreds of individuals living with the constant threat of this inhuman punishment – it would be a bold move towards ending the death penalty more broadly. In his last months in office, Governor Newsom could transform California from a state with the nation’s largest death row into a leader in the movement to end this despicable practice.”
The signatories emphasized their shared opposition to the death penalty as a violation of human rights and rejected misinformed claims that capital punishment serves as a uniquely effective deterrent to crime. They asserted that resources are better invested in addressing the root causes of crime and improving public safety.
Governor Newsom has the power to directly grant clemency for about 40 percent of those with death sentences in California. He can ask the state Supreme Court to recommend commuting the death sentences for the others. Amnesty International is supporting the Clemency California campaign in asking Governor Newsom to act before he leaves office in January 2027.
Contact: [email protected]