On January 17, 2006, California executed Clarence Ray Allen — the last person put to death by the state. Two decades later, California’s death row population has fallen to 580 prisoners, down from its peak near 750 in the mid-2010s. In the time since Mr. Allen’s execution, the death penalty in California has seen sustained scrutiny as concerns with racial discrimination, innocence, and costs continue to grow. Governor Gavin Newsom has placed a moratorium on executions, death-sentenced prisoners have been moved to less restrictive conditions in general population, and advocates have urged the governor to grant mass clemency.
In 2012, voters considered Proposition 34, which would have repealed the death penalty and replaced it with a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole. The measure would have resulted in annual savings estimated near $100 million in the first few years, with the expectation that savings would then grow annually. The proposition failed, receiving support from 48% of voters. Four years later, a nearly identical measure, Proposition 62 was on the ballot. In response, death penalty proponents presented an alternative, Proposition 66, which sought to retain the death penalty and expedite state capital appeals by changing the way in which appeals are processed. Proposition 62 failed, but received 46% support from voters, while Proposition 66 passed with 51% support from voters. Proposition 66 was upheld but later curtailed by a 2017 California Supreme Court decision.
Shortly after assuming office in 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order and announced a moratorium on executions in the state, and said that the “death penalty system has been, by all measures, a failure.” He explained that the death penalty “has discriminated against defendants who are mentally ill, Black and brown, or can’t afford expensive legal representation… [while providing] no public safety benefit or value as a deterrent.” In 2022, Gov. Newsom signed California’s Racial Justice Act, which provides a legal process for death-row prisoners to secure relief from convictions and death sentences if they are obtained “on the basis of race, ethnicity, or national origin,” and additional legislation that removed those who are permanently mentally incompetent from death row. Before signing both pieces of legislation, Gov. Newsom announced a plan in which the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) would transfer all men on death row in San Quentin State Prison to other maximum security state prisons, and would repurpose the former death row facility “into something innovative and anchored in rehabilitation,” according to CDCR spokesperson Vicky Waters. Data from CDCR indicates that as of May 28, 2024, all those formerly housed on San Quentin’s death row have been moved to prisons with general population in other state facilities.
As Gov. Newsom has vocally expressed his disapproval of the death penalty, civil rights groups and advocates have called on him to exercise his executive authority to grant clemency and commute all death sentences in California. Speakers at a June 2025 gathering called the state’s death penalty system unconstitutional and noted persistent evidence of racial bias, historic ties to lynching, ineffective protection of innocent lives, and high costs. The state, which maintains the nation’s largest death row population, has seen significant challenges to its capital punishment system based on allegations of racial discrimination and structural inequities in prosecutorial practices. These challenges include a mass clemency campaign, individualized claims under the state’s Racial Justice Act, and an equal protection challenge under the California Constitution.
Clemency advocacy has intensified in recent months, with both grassroots organizations and corporate entities mobilizing public pressure. In January 2026, Lush Cosmetics launched a statewide campaign across its 35 California locations, partnering with the US Campaign to End the Death Penalty, the Responsible Business Initiative for Justice, and Clemency California. The campaign urges Gov. Newsom to commute all death sentences to life without parole before a future administration could reverse his execution moratorium. “Governor Newsom has spoken clearly about the failures of the death penalty and his goal of ending it in California. He now has a historic opportunity to act on those convictions, commute every death sentence, and ensure that the progress already made cannot be undone. This moment calls for leadership rooted in human dignity and fairness,” said Carrie Harambasic, head of business development at Lush North America.
Lush’s campaign builds on corporate opposition to capital punishment from business leaders including Richard Branson and Matthew Stepka, members of the global Business Leaders Against the Death Penalty. Maha Jweied, CEO of the Responsible Business Initiative for Justice said, “[b]usiness leaders understand that the death penalty is not only inhumane and ineffective, but a massive waste of public resources. We urge Governor Newsom to act now — the state’s communities and businesses will be stronger for it.” Lush conducted a projection action at the California State Capitol on January 12, 2026, and is using its retail presence to educate customers on supporting clemency efforts.
David Greenwald, Lush Cosmetics Launches Campaign to End Death Penalty in California, Davis Vanguard, January 10, 2026.
