Governor Gavin Newsom says California should no longer be associated with the largest death row population in the country.
The governor signed an executive order Wednesday that will suspend the death penalty in california, granting reprieve to 737 inmates currently on death row. Newsom says equipment in the death chamber at San Quentin State Prison is being removed immediately and the state will step away from the injection protocol.
Voters in the state rejected propositions to end the practice in both 2006 and 2016. The governor says it was a difficult decision, with many urging him to eradicate evil by executing those on death row and others questioning if lawmakers should have the right to take a life.
Newsom's executive order is garnering criticism from president trump, who tweeted Newsom is defying voters. The moratorium on the death penalty in California will remain in effect until Newsom leaves office.
The last person to be executed in California in 2006, was Clarence Ray Allen, who was 76 years old, legally blind, diabetic, and used a wheelchair. He was convicted of killing three people.
There are 737 people currently on death row in California. See who they are.
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