[FOX] California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday that he will spare the lives of 548 inmates currently on the state’s death row, effectively clearing capital punishment in the state years after issuing an executive moratorium on executions.
In a letter to constituents, Newsom, a Democrat, declared the state's capital punishment system fundamentally flawed, error-prone, and morally incompatible with California’s core values.
"After nearly 30 years in public office, I have come to understand the limits of what government can justly accomplish," Newsom wrote. "I take this action because I firmly believe that state-sanctioned killing is incompatible with California’s values, undermines the foundations of our legal system, and diminishes each of us." |