California Death Sentence Commutations Draw UN Praise; Calls for Fair Case Reviews

The UN expert said the death penalty conflicts with human dignity and the prohibition of torture and other forms of ill-treatment, referring to findings in his report on capital punishment.

UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions Morris Tidball-Binz today welcomed California Governor Gavin Newsom's decision to replace the death sentences of all 548 people on the State's death row. Newsom announced on 5 November that he would use his clemency powers to change those sentences to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Tidball-Binz described the decision as an important step towards ending the threat of execution and the suffering experienced by people sentenced to death and their families.

California has not executed since 2006, and a moratorium on executions has been in place since 2019. Completing the sentence changes will require a prior recommendation from the California Supreme Court in 382 of the 548 cases covered by the Governor's decision. The announcement sets out a path to remove existing death sentences, with those cases still dependent on the required court process.

The UN expert said the death penalty conflicts with human dignity and the prohibition of torture and other forms of ill-treatment, referring to findings in his report on capital punishment. He described the persistent anguish and fear of execution experienced by people on death row as psychological torture, with families sharing in the distress and suffering. Formal commutation would end the threat of execution, which he identified as a source of suffering inherent in a death sentence.

Replacing death sentences must include a prospect of review

Tidball-Binz warned that converting every death sentence to life without parole cannot be the final step, saying imprisonment for life without any possibility of sentence review is contrary to international human rights standards. His report found that lengthy, indefinite periods under a death sentence violate articles 7 and 10 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights when prisoners have no commutation, resentencing, removal from death row conditions or realistic pathway to parole. He said the replacement sentences must face the same scrutiny, with a genuine opportunity for future review forming part of the response.

Individual hearings and legal support are central to the next steps

The Special Rapporteur urged the Governor, California Supreme Court and State legislature to ensure that every case receives an individual review, supported by legal representation and a meaningful opportunity for the person concerned to be heard. Everyone whose death sentence is commuted should have a genuine prospect of resentencing or parole review after a reasonable period, he said. California has experience with this process, as the State Supreme Court recommended 24 commutations of life-without-parole sentences at the Governor's request between January 2019 and October 2026, which would make those prisoners eligible for parole hearings.

California's decision brings renewed calls to end the death penalty

Tidball-Binz commended California's progress and called on the State to move towards full abolition of capital punishment. His appeal extended to federal authorities and every other US state that retains the death penalty, urging them to halt executions and abolish the punishment in both law and practice. For California, he linked the next stage of reform to meaningful sentence reviews, asking State institutions to ensure that people spared execution have a genuine prospect of their replacement sentences being reconsidered.