California death row: Newsom to commute 548 sentences

California Governor Gavin Newsom said Thursday he will commute all death sentences in the state to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, affecting 548 people awaiting execution.

Newsom said capital punishment was incompatible with California's values and that the state "cannot morally kill them." He said he chose a blanket commutation because trying to distinguish among crimes and offenders for clemency would create "two classes of murder victims."

California has not carried out a death sentence for two decades, although courts have continued to impose the penalty for murder and other serious crimes. The state has one of the largest death row populations in the world.

Jess Nichol, whose sister's killer is on death row in California, said she once wanted him executed but later concluded execution had nothing to do with recovery or public safety.

The American Civil Liberties Union applauded the move, calling the death penalty racist, error-prone and inhumane.