Newsom Considers Commuting Death Row Sentences

Amid the news of Tennessee’s botched execution of Christa Pike and the Pentagon saying it will live-stream its execution of an army psychiatrist convicted of a mass shooting, Gov. Gavin Newsom is said to be considering commuting the sentences of the 563 people currently on death row in California. The state is home to a quarter of all American prisoners awaiting the death penalty, though a moratorium on executions has been in place since 2019. We’ll talk about what factors Newsom is weighing and hear how commuting death penalty sentences could affect Newsom’s national political profile and the broader conversation about capital punishment in the United States.

Guests:

Natasha Minsker, facilitator, California Anti Death Penalty Coalition

Maurice Chammah, staff writer, The Marshall Project

Alexa Hansen, founder, Victim Advocate Angels

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