Gov. Gavin Newsom reveals the moment he decided to spare all of California’s 548 death row inmates

Gov. Gavin Newsom has revealed the crucial conversation that motivated him this week to commute the death sentences of all 548 condemned inmates in California.

Newsom, who is facing backlash from prosecutors and victims’ family members for his move to spare the criminals, explained that a chance run-in with the siblings of murder victim Polly Klaas spurred him to act.

“It was really, to me, one of the most profound and outsize meetings that I’ve had. Not just on this topic,” the governor told the San Francisco Chronicle.

Newsom said he was at a film festival at the San Quentin prison in Marin County in late October when he bumped into Jess and Annie Nichol, the sisters of Klaas, 12, who was kidnapped and murdered in 1993 by Richard Allen Davis.

The three reportedly huddled together in a converted death row cell to talk, where the siblings told Newsom that not all victims’ family members thought capital punishment was the best way to move forward.

While Davis was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death in 1996 for Klaas’ death, her sisters told the governor they didn’t believe fatal punishments solved anything.

Annie Nichol, who was 6 when Klaas was murderer, told the Chronicle it was “heartbreaking” for her to see how the death fueled a rise in “tough-on-crime” legislation, including California’s “Three Strikes” law.

“There’s a relief in knowing the state is stepping away from another death in Polly’s name,” Annie said.

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Jess Nichol told the Chronicle that Newsom appeared surprised throughout much of their conversation.

The governor had spoken with Polly’s father, Marc Klaas, back when he issued an executive order in 2019 pausing all executions. Marc opposed the moratorium came out against a commutation.

Newsom raised his conversation with Marc Klaas to the sisters.

“And then one of the daughters looked at me, she looked me in the eye, and she said, ‘Then don’t ever forget what we just said to you, and that sticks with you as long as his comments stuck with you,’” Newsom told the Chronicle.

“That moment, for me, I was almost freed. It was spiritual,” he said. “It stuck with me.”

After Newsom’s mass commutation, Marc Klaas slammed the governor in an interview with the California Post.

“He’s putting these people closer and closer and closer to freedom, and these are absolutely the worst, most disgusting people that have ever lived,” he said.

“The whole idea that my daughter’s killer is getting this gift of life that was denied to all of the victims of these characters” offends him.

On Friday, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman warned that Newsom’s decision could eventually allow convicted killers to seek freedom, including more than 100 sentenced in LA County.

Hochman pointed to the notorious Menendez brothers as evidence that life without parole does not always guarantee someone will die behind bars.

Newsom’s controversial decision could influence voters’ perception of him as he weighs a 2028 run for the White House. The governor did not comment on how the move could impact his potential run.

Many surviving family members noted he announced the mass commutations shortly after Democrats across the US swept to victory in the midterm elections.

“It’s a moral moment. I think Tuesday was a moral moment,” Newsom told the Chronicle of the election results. “That’s not politics. That’s just meaning. That’s mission. That’s purpose. That’s life. And I think this country needs a little of that.”

The fate of Davis, Klaas’ killer, is not necessarily final.

As a criminal with multiple felony convictions, he requires recommendation and approval from the California Supreme Court before his death sentence can be commuted.