# Newsom’s death row bombshell could give convicted killers a path to freedom, LA DA warns

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/newsoms-death-row-bombshell-could-give-convicted-killers-a-path-to-freedom-la-da-warns/
- Published: 2026-11-06T23:49:18+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-07T00:25:49+00:00
- Original publisher: New York Post (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://nypost.com/2026/11/06/us-news/newsoms-death-row-bombshell-could-give-convicted-killers-a-path-to-freedom-la-da-warns/
- Topics: World

## Key points

- Newsom plans to commute 548 death sentences to life without parole.
- LA’s district attorney warns future resentencing could make some prisoners parole eligible.
- The state Supreme Court must approve commutations for some inmates.

## Summary

California Governor Gavin Newsom has decided to commute the death sentences of all 548 people on the state’s death row to life imprisonment without parole. Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman says the move could create uncertainty for victims’ families, arguing that later resentencing laws may give some prisoners a route to parole.

Hochman cited Erik and Lyle Menendez, whose life-without-parole sentences were reduced decades after their parents’ murders, making them eligible for parole. He said more than 100 Los Angeles County cases would be affected and criticised Newsom for not consulting victims’ families; some relatives also objected. The California Supreme Court must approve commutations for inmates with multiple felony convictions.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.