California Gov. Gavin Newsom is seriously considering commuting the death sentences of all 563 inmates on the state's death row before leaving office, according to two people familiar with his thinking.

The potential action would mark a major intervention in California's capital punishment system and could become one of Newsom's final acts as governor. Newsom, a Democrat whose name has been floated as a possible 2028 presidential candidate, has long opposed executions and imposed a moratorium on the state's death penalty in 2019.

Commuting the sentences would spare the inmates from execution, although it would not automatically release them from prison. Those whose sentences were reduced would remain incarcerated under the terms of their new sentences.

California has one of the largest death rows in the country, but the state has not carried out an execution since 2006. Newsom's 2019 moratorium halted executions and ordered the state's execution chamber at San Quentin State Prison to be dismantled. The moratorium did not abolish the death penalty under California law.

A mass commutation would go further by formally reducing the sentences of every person currently awaiting execution. The governor has broad clemency powers, though the precise legal and procedural requirements can vary depending on an inmate's circumstances.

Newsom's consideration of the move comes as his time in office winds down, and speculation continues about his political future. A decision affecting hundreds of condemned inmates would likely reignite the national debate over capital punishment, victims' families, and the use of executive clemency.

No final decision has been announced, and the reported deliberations do not mean the commutations will necessarily occur.