SEPTEMBER 11, 2025 – SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. —
Gov. Gavin Newsom is a fervent opponent of the death penalty who has halted executions in the state since taking office in 2019 and dismantled Death Row at San Quentin State Prison, moving hundreds of condemned inmates to other prisons. He is also a possible Democratic candidate for president in a nation that, while sharply divided over capital punishment, often rejects candidates who can be labeled soft on crime.
So how will Newsom respond to pleas by other death penalty foes, including speakers at a San Francisco event Thursday led by the renowned Sister Helen Prejean, to commute all 581 death sentences in California to life in prison?
Newsom isn’t saying….