Gubernatorial hopeful Xavier Becerra pledges to keep California’s death-penalty moratorium

In the California governor’s race, Democrat Xavier Becerra, former attorney general, announced he will uphold Governor Gavin Newsom’s 2019 executive order halting executions. While Becerra previously supported capital punishment in principle, he criticized its uneven application and the racial disparities it creates. He cited the high cost and errors in the system as reasons to keep the moratorium.

Republican challenger Steve Hilton argues the moratorium defies the will of voters who rejected repeal measures in 2012 and 2016, and he would lift it if elected. California’s Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation reports more than 565 inmates on death row, though the state has not carried out an execution since 2006. The debate occurs amid broader criminal-justice reforms and legal challenges questioning the fairness of capital cases.