Newsom’s Death Row Decision

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has announced plans to commute all 548 death sentences in the state, converting them to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The move would prevent those prisoners from being executed under future governors and marks the largest mass commutation of death sentences in modern U.S. history. Is this a good thing? Some would say it is. The announcement follows the botched execution of Christa Pike in Tennessee, where a prolonged and agonizing attempt to administer lethal drugs reportedly left her arms swollen, burned and blistered, while she cried and struggled to breathe. She was eventually hospitalized and placed on a ventilator after surviving two doses of the execution drugs. Newsom, who imposed a...

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