California Governor Gavin Newsom has commuted the sentences of all 548 inmates on the state’s death row, converting their punishments to life without parole in a sweeping move that has ignited fury among victims’ families.
The decision, announced Thursday, marks the latest escalation in Newsom’s long-standing opposition to capital punishment. California last carried out an execution in 2006, and Newsom imposed a formal moratorium in 2019.
‘Political Animal’ Prioritizing Ambition Over Justice
Phyllis Loya, whose son Pittsburg Police Officer Larry Lasater was murdered in 2005, blasted Newsom as a “political animal” capitalizing on Democratic midterm victories to boost his national profile. Her son’s killer, Alexander Rashad Hamilton, was among those whose death sentences were commuted.
“He wants to be president,” Loya told the New York Post. “I’m being retraumatized by laws passed by the legislatures or by the governor. That’s who’s retraumatizing me, not the killer.”
Notorious Killers Spared Execution
The commutations include some of California’s most infamous murderers. Serial killer Randy Kraft, convicted of torturing and murdering at least 16 men, will now serve life without parole. So will David Westerfield, who kidnapped and killed 7-year-old Danielle van Dam in 2002.
“All these years, I’ve held on to the hope that someone would eventually take office who respected the will of California voters,” tweeted Christina Buttons, who grew up in van Dam’s neighborhood. Voters rejected death penalty abolition measures in both 2012 and 2016.
Families Speak of Betrayal
Loya recalled burying her son with a sonogram of his unborn child, saying Newsom had “put the knife in and twisted it” with his decision. “This is the worst day of my life,” she said.
The governor’s office has framed the move as a moral stand against a “failed system,” but critics note it comes just days after Democrats strengthened their political position in midterm elections. Republican Rep. Nancy Mace tweeted that Newsom was “coddling criminals” instead of supporting victims.
Source: www.thegatewaypundit.com โ https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/11/mother-cries-savages-newsom-commuting-death-row-prisoners/