California’s Mᴀss Death Row Commutation Could Reduce America’s Condemned Inmate Population by More Than 25%

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is considering whether to spare 563 inmates from the death penalty as one of his final acts before leaving office in January.

Conversations over the potential mᴀss clemency for some of the state’s most notorious criminals ramped up after Tennessee’s botched execution of Christa Pike, which went horribly wrong when two doses of the highly potent sedative Pentobarbital failed to kill her, the New York Times reported.

The decision could influence the national public image of Newsom, who is eyeing a White House run in 2028.

Topo Padilla, president of Crime Victims United, blasted the potential commutations as “atrocious.”

“Speaking on behalf of crime victims and survivors, we are devastated to hear that Gov. Newsom may commute the sentences of all the people that are on death row in California,” he said.

“A judge and or a jury made this judgement and families and victims understood it and accepted it. And now, one man may overturn those judgments.”