California suspends death penalty Wed March 13,2019

Governor Gavin Newsom has imposed a moratorium on carrying out the Death Penalty in California, granting a reprieve to 737 condemned inmates - the largest death row population in the US

"The death penalty has been an abject failure. It discriminates based on the colour of your skin or how much money you make," he told a news conference on Wednesday March 13,2019

"It's ineffective, irreversible, and immoral. It goes against the very values that we stand for, which is why California is putting a stop to this failed system."

Newsom also withdrew the lethal injection regulations that death penalty opponents already have tied up in courts and announced the closure of a new execution chamber at San Quentin State Prison that was never used.

Newsom, a Democrat who took office in January, has been a staunch opponent of the death penalty, last carried out in California in 2006.