Gavin Newsom Considering Commuting Death Row Sentences 

It appears the botched execution of Christa Pike is having larger ramifications across the United States. California Gov. Gavin Newsom is currently considering sparring all 563 people on Death Row in the state. 

As The New York Times reports, Newsom is term-limited and set to leave office at the end of the year. Newsom had reportedly been speaking to his advisers about sparing their lives throughout the year, but the talks have intensified as a result of Pike’s failed execution last week. 

If you weren’t aware, Tennessee officials are facing scrutiny after failing to execute Pike despite injecting her with two lethal doses of pentobarbital. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee canceled all remaining executions in the state for the year and ordered an investigation into what went wrong. Pike was hospitalized after the failed execution and is currently conscious and speaking. The failed execution has put Tennessee in unprecedented legal territory, as no one has ever survived two doses of a lethal injection. 

It’s not unusual for outgoing governors to commute death-row sentences as one of their final acts. If Newsom decides to commute their sentences, it would be the largest Death Row commutation in U.S. history. 

While there are 563 people on Death Row in the state, California hasn’t executed anyone in 20 years due to a statewide moratorium. The last execution in the state happened in 2006 while Arnold Schwarzenegger was governor. 

From The New York Times:

In 2019, Mr. Newsom placed a moratorium on executions in the state. The favorite to succeed him as governor, Xavier Becerra, a fellow Democrat, has said he would keep the moratorium in place if elected.

Mr. Newsom’s moratorium barred executions during his tenure but did not reduce sentences for prisoners on death row or stop prosecutors from seeking death sentences. The governor has faced continuous pressure from death penalty opponents to do something more durable. Mr. Newsom’s office said that he has not made any decisions about death penalty commutations.

Under California law, a governor can unilaterally grant clemency to a prisoner with a single conviction, but the State Supreme Court must approve a clemency request for inmates with multiple felony convictions. If Mr. Newsom decided to commute sentences for everyone on death row, more than half of the cases would have to be reviewed by the court.

Matt Bennett, a moderate Democratic strategist, told the Times that commuting the sentences could complicate Newsom’s chances as a presidential candidate. “He is the governor of a very blue, very liberal state, and he has done a bunch of things that wouldn’t happen in swing states,” Bennett told the Times. “Adding to the list is probably not something he should be doing.”

Ya know, between quotes like that and the weird campaign against Hasan Piker, I feel like the consultancy class has lost the plot. I live in a traditionally red state, and I can tell you right now people don’t care about commuting death sentences or the opinions of a streamer. Folks worry everything is getting more expensive, as jobs keep asking for more while paying you less. 

Newsom has alluded to the conflicting advice he’s received on the issue on a recent episode of his podcast. “I’m getting all those people in my ear: ‘Don’t do it. Don’t do it,’” Newsom said while addressing the possibility of commuting the sentences. “Politics. That’s the best they can do.”

SEE ALSO:

Tennessee Execution Fails After 2 Injections Of Lethal Drug

Christa Pike Awake And Speaking In Hospital After Failed Execution