California Governor Gavin Newsom suspends all 548 death row sentences in California in largest pardon in history

Gavin Newsom, California's Governor, has commuted the death sentences of all 548 people on death row in the state, it has been revealed.

"We can now let these offenders die in obscurity while we forever remember and honour the victims," the politician said in a letter.

The Democrat stated in the letter the death sentences will be changed to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Newsom added: "After nearly 30 years in public office, I have come to understand the limits of what government can justly accomplish. 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.

"I know we cannot execute people in our imperfect legal system and remain true to our core values, first among them justice and human decency."

The governor has explained his reasoning behind the decision (Jason Henry/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The state of California has not executed a death row prisoner since 2006, while only 13 have been killed since the death penalty was reinstated in 1978.

The current governor added in his open letter: "My decision today comes after nearly three decades of openly opposing state-sanctioned executions as an elected official. Soon after taking office as Governor of California, on March 13, 2019, I instituted a moratorium on executions.

"I could not remain true to my values and oversee the killing of people with death warrants in California. My action formalized the de facto moratorium on executions in place since 2006, the last year California executed anyone.

"While the moratorium has prevented any further executions, it left all death sentences in place. The 548 people now under sentence of death in California make up the largest death row in the Western Hemisphere."

Gavin Newsom has commuted the death sentences of all 548 people on death row in the state (Ariana Drehsler / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

He continued: "The people sentenced to death in California caused indescribable suffering to victims, their families, communities, and our state as a whole. The harm they inflicted persists across generations.

"Many Californians feel that those who commit brutal crimes deserve to die. But as Governor, I have concluded the state cannot morally kill them.

"I do, however, pray that this action will finally separate the memories of the victims of these crimes from the fate of those who harmed them. We can now let these offenders die in obscurity while we forever remember and honor their victims."

Newsom only has a matter of months left in the job of California's governor, with fellow Democrat, Xavier Becerra, projected to take over the post.

Attentions will now turn to whether he decides to run for president in 2028.