Sister Helen Prejean, faith leaders press Newsom to clear death row

Sept. 9 (UPI) — Sister Helen Prejean and 130 religious leaders in California on Tuesday called on Gov. Gavin Newsom to commute the sentences for all of the state’s death row prisoners.

The call comes six years after the two-term Democratic governor issued a moratorium on the death penalty in California and it’s been nearly two decades since the state carried out an execution. Now, Prejean, a prominent anti-death penalty advocate, along with faith leaders representing a range of traditions from across the state have signed a letter urging Newsom “to take the next step” and effectively clear the country’s largest death row block.

“Such an action would not only save lives but also send a powerful message about California’s dedication to building a justice system rooted in equity, compassion, and the prevention of harm,” they wrote.

Prejean along with other faith leaders plan to hold a rally Thursday outside of San Francisco City Hall intended to press Newsom that will include LED candles representing each of the individuals currently on death row in California. The rally is scheduled to take place days before the San Francisco Opera will open Dead Man Walking, an opera based on Prejean’s memoir of the same name, 25 years after it premiered.

The faith leaders stated in their letter that “the continued existence of the death penalty contradicts the principles of fairness, dignity, and the sanctity of human life.” They further argued that the death penalty is plagued with the risk of executing innocent people and is disproportionately used against the poor, people of color and other marginalized communities.

Last year, 26 people were sentenced to death in the United States and another 25 were executed, according to the Death Penalty Information Center’s annual report. Those executions took place in nine Republican-led states that included Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and Utah.

The report noted that 12 of the 25 prisoners who were executed in 2024 were people of color. Of new death sentences, over half went to people of color.

There are currently 581 prisoners on California’s death row, according to state figures. Last year, California courts removed nearly 60 prisoners from death row, resulting in a nearly 10% reduction, according to the center.

A coalition of more than 200 civil rights groups rallied outside the state’s capitol in June and also asked Newsom to commute the sentences of death row prisoners.

Newsom has called the death penalty “by all measures, a failure.” But Newsom, who is expected by some to run for president in 2028, has not signaled he will take further action on the death penalty.