World
Gavin Newsom commutes the death penalty of 548 people in California
In a letter issued on 5 November, Gavin Newsom, governor of California, announced the commutation of the death penalty of 548 people for life imprisonment. Newsom has been opposed to the death penalty for years and, in 2019, decreed a moratorium on executions in his state. However, the California Constitution requires the approval of the State Supreme Court to grant clemency when a person has been convicted of a serious crime on more than one occasion. The measure of Newsom would represent the greatest act of clemency in the history of the United States.