Newsom's decision comes after the high-profile botched execution of a woman in Tennessee in late September and while executions have been on the rise in the US. There are three executions scheduled for Thursday in Indiana, Florida and Alabama.

At least four of seven judges on the California Supreme Court will have to sign off on the commutations, CalMatters reported.

It is unclear how Newsom's decision will affect condemned inmates like Keith Doolin, 53, who was sentenced to death in 1996 for murdering two sex workers, Inez Espinoza and Peggy Tucker, and shooting four others. He maintains his innocence.

Doolin lived on death row at San Quentin for decades, until he was moved to another prison in 2025 when the governor announced the state would reform the prison for all but those on death row.

Doolin's mother, Donna Larsen, told the BBC that the news of Newsom's commutations - which includes Doolin - brought mixed emotions.

"At least the execution chamber will not be reconstructed, and no more killing by the people of the state of California," she said.

Anthony D Romero, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, applauded Newsom's action.

"These commutations reflect what justice demands: an end to a racist, error-prone, and inhumane punishment that has burdened California for far too long," Romero said.

"By taking this step, Gov. Newsom has affirmed that the death penalty has no place in California and he showed real courage by confronting racialised injustice head-on."

Nathan Hochman, the top prosecutor in Los Angeles County, said that while Newsom has the power to commute sentences, only state legislature or voters can eliminate the death penalty.

"Californians have been asked on two separate ballot initiatives to abolish the death penalty and both times they have chosen to keep it for the most serious crimes," Hochman said in a statement.