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California’s most dangerous death row maniacs spared by Gavin Newsom — as gov blasted for mass commutation

Read the original at New York Post ↗
Cite

Wu, T., & Monahan, A. (2026, November 5). California’s most dangerous death row maniacs spared by Gavin Newsom — as gov blasted for mass commutation. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/11/05/us-news/californias-worst-of-the-worst-death-row-inmates-spared-by-gavin-newsom/

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

New York Post · collected 2026-11-05 · by Titus Wu, Amanda Monahan

Quick Summary

California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that he will commute the sentences of all 548 inmates on death row to life in prison without parole during his final weeks in office. In a letter, Newsom stated this move aligns with California’s values and maintains integrity within its legal system. However, families of victims strongly oppose the decision, arguing it disregards their suffering and judicial processes. Advocates like Anne Marie Schubert and Topo Padilla argue that Newsom's action contradicts democratic principles since voters have previously upheld the death penalty in statewide referendums.
Written by AI on 2026-11-06, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On November 5, 2026, Gavin Newsom, the Democratic governor of California, commuted all 548 death sentences in the state to life in prison without parole. This decision came as he prepared to leave office after eight years and follows his moratorium on executions since 2019. Newsom cited moral reasons, stating that "state-sanctioned killing is incompatible with" California's values. The move impacts the largest death row in the Western Hemisphere. However, it faces backlash from prosecutors and families of victims who argue that it undermines justice for crime survivors. Approximately 382 commutations will now go before the California Supreme Court for approval.

Written for “California Governor Commutes Death Sentences” on 2026-11-06, grounded in this article and the 28 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.45, but none of the 2 quote(s) it offered could be found in the article text, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 132893: no verified evidence · logged 2026-11-06

Story

📰 California Governor Commutes Death Sentences
Politics · 29 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 5% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Fox News
⚖️ Leans strongly left Hedges 0 of 19 claims Outlet record 67/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
21
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
5%
1 of 21 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
29
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-11-06 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 17627 article(s) · 39 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 39 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Titus Wu
89 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 California Gov. Gavin Newsom is facing more backlash from prosecutors over his bombshell decision Thursday to commute all 548 death-row inmates in California — but the sweeping move may not be the end of the story.
🔮 She noted that Newsom, when he first ran for governor, told editorial boards at the time that he would “follow the will of the people” when asked on the death penalty.
🔮 In his final weeks as governor, Gavin Newsom has made a major change to California’s correctional system — one that will be felt deeply by families of victims across the state.
🔮 “Not how you’re going to build goodwill with the next American president, whoever that is.”
🔮 She will receive due process and remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings,” a DHS spokesperson told KRON4.
🔮 Proposition 39, which would have required California voters to show ID at the polls and introduce additional verification requirements for mail-in ballots, was rejected by 60% of voters with roughly half of votes counted, according to Associated Press.
🔮 Proposition 40, which would slap a one-time 5% tax on billionaires’ wealth, was trailing by 56% to 44% with roughly half the ballots counted shortly after 9 p.m. The measure was among the most fiercely contested of the 14 propositions on California’s ballot, pitting powerful labor unions and lefty Democrats against some of the world’s richest tech entrepreneurs.
🔮 Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass unleashed an early-morning Election Day attack on rival Nithya Raman, releasing a blooper reel highlighting her opponent’s campaign gaffes as the bitter mayoral race reached its climax.
🔮 Housing advocate Toby Muresianu joked: “Finally, a politician with the courage to say ‘Maybe in my backyard?’
🔮 Soares is currently the president of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute, a Berkeley nonprofit known for promoting “AI doomerism,” which is the belief that developing superintelligent AI will likely result in human extinction.
Also by Titus Wu
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 89 articles by Titus Wu →
Amanda Monahan
15 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 In his final weeks as governor, Gavin Newsom has made a major change to California’s correctional system — one that will be felt deeply by families of victims across the state.
🔮 Myers Power Products, Inc., based in Ontario, filed a WARN notice earlier this month that will affect 206 employees.
🔮 No residents or pets were exposed to the animal, but two people at a nearby worksite may have been exposed and are receiving “recommended follow-up for rabies post-exposure prophylaxis,” a series
🔮 You might want to stay out of the water.
🔮 California’s coast is bracing for a massive surge that could push sea levels up by as much as a foot in the coming days, piling onto already battered beaches and raising the risk of flooding and erosion.
🔮 Culver City announced Friday that all Culver CityBus service would be suspended through the weekend as the community mourns the driver, who was gunned down around 5:15 p.m. Thursday.
🔮 An estimated $1 billion in new revenue generated from Los Angeles County’s latest sales tax increase will have to sit untouched as a lawsuit challenges the validity of the measure.
🔮 Food delivery service users may soon have food flying, literally, to their doorstep.
🔮 I would have panicked.
🔮 A rubbish fire believed to be homeless-related in May left a Larchmont homeowner homeless himself. “I spoke to LAPD to kick them out, and they did nothing, and my house burned and my dogs are dead,” Jonathan Galicia said to Eyewitness News right after the fire destroyed his home.
Also by Amanda Monahan
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 15 articles by Amanda Monahan →

Topics

California Californians The California Post the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation the United States

Subjects

California GPE · 7× Newsom PERSON · 5× Anne Marie Schubert PERSON · 1× Californians NORP · 1× Gavin Newsom PERSON · 1× Polly Klaas PERSON · 1× Richard Allen Davis PERSON · 1× The California Post ORG · 1× the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation ORG · 1× the United States GPE · 1×

Narrative

Calling the decision one of the “most difficult” of his career, Newsom acknowledged victim families while reinforcing his belief that this is a “righteous action.” But furious advocates for victims blasted the decision and told The California Post they will challenge it in court.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-11-06
🔮 In his final weeks as governor, Gavin Newsom has made a major change to California’s correctional system — one that will be felt deeply by families of victims across the state.

Claims (21 extracted, 1 hedged)

In his final weeks as governor, Gavin Newsom has made a major change to California’s correctional system — one that will be felt deeply by families of victims across the state. asserted
that → make → state
Newsom dropped news on Thursday that he will be commuting the death sentences of all 548 people on death row across the state. asserted
he → drop → state
These inmates will now face life in prison. asserted
inmates → face → prison
“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,” Newsom wrote in a letter to Californians. asserted
Newsom → take → Californians
Calling the decision one of the “most difficult” of his career, Newsom acknowledged victim families while reinforcing his belief that this is a “righteous action.” But furious advocates for victims blasted the decision and told The California Post they will challenge it in court. asserted
they → call → court
“He talks about the importance of California values. asserted
He → talk → values
Where do those California values come into play when we’re talking about the mothers of murdered children, murdered police officers, victims that are school shootings?” said Anne Marie Schubert, a former district attorney who now leads the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation. asserted
who → come → Foundation
With California’s death row housing over a quarter of the nation’s condemned inmates, some of the “worst of the worst” in the United States will no longer face the death penalty. asserted
some → house → penalty
Some of these heinous killers include Richard Allen Davis — who kidnapped, raped and murdered 12-year-old Polly Klaas in 1993 and is now housed at Avenal State Prison. asserted
who → include → Prison
Lonnie Franklin, nicknamed the “Grim Sleeper,” killed nine women and one teenage girl in Los Angeles, yet is now believed to have as many as 25 victims. asserted
Franklin → nickname → victims
He will now avoid death. asserted
He → avoid → death
Among these malicious murderers is also Cary Stayner, the former Yosemite motel handyman who murdered four women near the national park in 1999. asserted
who → murder → 1999
Also from the northern half of the state is Joseph Naso, infamously known as the “Alphabet Killer,” who was sentenced to death in 2013 after killing four women with matching initials between 1977 and 1994. asserted
who → know → 1977
With victims all across California is Wayne Adam Ford, the truck driver sentenced to death in 2006 after killing four women; known for cutting up his victims’ bodies, Ford surrendered to authorities in 1998 with a severed breast in his jacket pocket, according to the Los Angeles Times. uncertain
Ford → sentence → Times
The governor said he believes the state “cannot morally kill” these inmates for their horrendous crimes. asserted
state → say → crimes
“We can now let these offenders die in obscurity while we forever remember and honor the victims,” Newsom wrote. asserted
Newsom → let → victims
But advocates said that victims they’ve talked to feel that their blood is boiling. asserted
blood → say → ?
“This is one man espousing his religious beliefs over the sentence of a jury and a judge, and the will of the voters, as the voters in 2012 and in 2016 voted to keep the death penalty,” said Topo Padilla, president of Crime Victims United. asserted
Padilla → espouse → United
Padilla said he felt especially upset over the timing of the announcement — right after the midterm elections ended — which made him feel Newsom mass commuted for political reasons. asserted
Newsom → say → reasons
“What does he politically think this is going to do for him on the national landscape outside of New York and California? asserted
this → think → York
I promise you, the balance of this country supports the death penalty as voters,” he said. asserted
he → promise → voters
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