California Gov. Gavin Newsom is reportedly considering commuting the sentences of all 563 inmates on the state’s death row to life in prison without parole, a move that would strike down the state’s existing capital punishment system in his final weeks in office. The possibility has drawn sharp criticism from law enforcement leaders, prosecutors and the families of murder victims.
Marc Klaas, whose 12-year-old daughter Polly was kidnapped and murdered in 1993, said the move would betray families who have spent years, sometimes decades, working through the legal system.
“Baby killers, cop killers, spree killers and serial killers have all found an ally in Gavin Newsom,” Klaas told Fox News Digital.
Polly Klaas’ killer, Richard Allen Davis, is still on death row. Klaas said a blanket commutation would undo the work of families who attended every day of trial proceedings and endured repeated appeals.
“We have been working within the system. We’ve done everything that’s been asked of us,” Klaas said. “Most of us have attended every day of the trial and waited, oftentimes for decades like we have, watching unsuccessful appeal after unsuccessful appeal.”
Klaas said he once confronted Newsom in person about the case. “He knew full well that Richard Allen Davis had killed my child,” Klaas said. “I tried to argue with him, and he said he doesn’t want to be the guy who executes an innocent man, nor does he want to be the guy executing 30 people a month until they’re all gone — neither of which was ever going to happen.”
Newsom’s Long-Standing Position
Newsom, a Democrat, has opposed capital punishment since early in his first term. Just two months after taking office in 2019, he imposed a moratorium on executions and ordered the dismantling of the execution chamber at San Quentin State Prison. California has not carried out an execution since 2006.
A spokesperson for Newsom reaffirmed his stance to Fox News Digital: “Governor Newsom has been clear about his position on the death penalty since his first year in office, when he ordered a moratorium on executions. He believes the intentional killing of another person is wrong.”
On a recent episode of his podcast, “This is Gavin Newsom,” the governor described weighing the issue against his own conscience. “I have to prepare for my own conscience, my rocking chair test,” he said.
According to reporting by The New York Times, discussions among Newsom’s advisers intensified after Tennessee’s botched execution of Christa Pike on Sept. 30, when she survived two doses of the lethal drug pentobarbital and was returned to prison.
Voters Have Weighed In Before
California voters have twice addressed the death penalty at the ballot box. In 2016, they rejected Proposition 62, which would have repealed capital punishment, while narrowly passing Proposition 66 to speed up the appeals process.
Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes said a commutation would go against that expressed will. “This would be a second major affront to California voters’ decision on the death penalty,” he said.
San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow wrote to Newsom warning that a blanket commutation would be a “slap in the face” to murder victims and their families.
“Justice is always individualized. It depends on the particular facts and circumstances of each crime, each defendant, and each victim,” Dow wrote. “In our justice system, every victim deserves to be treated equally, fairly, and with dignity and respect. The government of California is ‘We, the People,’ not one person overruling the voters in every capital case at once.”
Klaas argued Newsom’s attention would be better spent elsewhere. “Governor Newsom should tackle the homeless problem, the highest utility rates in the country, and the highest gas rates in the country,” he said. “Go after the things that actually mean something and benefit everyday people — not the worst individuals in society.”
