Catholic praise for California death penalty commutations

By CathNews New Zealand

November 10th, 2026

Gavin Newsom (Charles Ommanney – Office of the Governor of California/Wikimedia Commons)

Catholic advocates for abolishing the death penalty have praised an announcement by the Governor of California that he is commuting all 548 death sentences in the state to life in prison without parole. Source: National Catholic Reporter.

Governor Gavin Newsom, who is preparing to leave office after eight years, said he took the action after three decades of openly opposing state-sanctioned executions as an elected official. In 2019, he placed a moratorium on executions in the state, though hundreds of people remained on death row.

“I take this action because I firmly believe that state-sanctioned killing is incompatible with California’s values, undermines the foundations of our legal system and diminishes each of us,” Mr Newsom said.

Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, the executive director of Catholic Mobilizing Network, an organisation that advocates to end capital punishment, said Mr Newsom’s decision “demonstrates how justice can be rooted in mercy and restoration instead of death and retribution”.

“It is an incredibly encouraging and historic witness for life and advances human dignity,” Ms Murphy said. She commended the Governor for signing the “largest commutation in world history”.

Kathleen Domingo, executive director of the California Catholic Conference, said that the commutations are “consistent with the dignity of every human person, demanding accountability, extending mercy and allowing for redemption”.

Sr Helen Prejean, a Sister of St Joseph and longtime advocate against the death penalty, also praised the decision. She noted that hundreds of California faith leaders – from all faiths – added their voices to the call for the death sentences to be commuted.

Days before the commutations, 50 murder victims’ family members had added their signatures to a letter urging Mr Newsom to grant universal clemency.

Mr Newsom, who is Catholic, said the decision was “among the most difficult” of his career, adding that he knew it would lead to “excruciating” memories surfacing for crime victims’ families.

More than half a dozen US state governors have granted mass clemency in their states in recent years. California has not executed anyone in 20 years.

FULL STORY

Catholic advocates praise Newsom’s decision to commute death sentences (By Brian Fraga/National Catholic Reporter)