Trump calls Newsom’s California death row decision a ‘disaster for justice’, invokes Hannibal Lecter

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump on Saturday, November 14, criticised California Governor Gavin Newsom’s plan to commute the death sentences of inmates on the state’s death row, calling the decision a “disaster for Justice in America” and expressing hope that it would be overturned.

Trump also invoked fictional serial killer Hannibal Lecter while attacking the decision in a second social media post. Newsom announced the proposed commutations on November 5, saying the sentences would be changed to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

Trump attacks Newsom over California death row commutations

Trump criticised Newsom in two posts on Truth Social, accusing the Democratic governor of showing leniency towards people convicted of serious murders and disregarding the families of their victims.

"Gavin's halting the Death Penalty for all 563 California Death Row inmates, some of the worst cold blooded murderers to have ever lived on the face of the Earth, is a disaster for Justice in America,” Trump wrote.

The president cited 563 inmates in his post, although Newsom’s office put the number of people currently sentenced to death in California at 548. Trump also argued that the decision prevented the state’s legal process from running its course and said families of murder victims had been left devastated.

“Many of these names, people who have killed, over and over again, can't believe their luck in having a Governor so incompetent and insensitive that he would not let the long and winding legal system prevail,” Trump wrote. “The family members of those who were so viciously killed are, rightfully, devastated. Hopefully this decision will be overturned!”

In a second post later in the day, Trump compared some of the inmates to Hannibal Lecter, the fictional serial killer portrayed by Anthony Hopkins in 'The Silence of the Lambs'.

“Some of the people that Gavin freed from the Death Penalty, after many years of going through the California 'Justice' System, make Hannibal Lecter, of Silence of the Lambs, look like a nice guy!” he wrote.

Newsom announced the proposed commutations shortly before the end of his tenure as governor, saying the death penalty was incompatible with California’s values. In his explanation, he argued that the state’s system could not be administered fairly and had resulted in wrongful convictions.

“By every measure, California's system for administering the death penalty is a failure,” Newsom said, adding that it “has not been and cannot be fairly applied and has resulted in the conviction of innocent people.”

California prosecutors challenge Newsom’s death row commutations

Under Newsom’s plan, the 548 death sentences would be commuted to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. The proposed changes would not overturn the inmates’ convictions, release them from prison or make them eligible for parole.

However, 382 of the commutations require approval from the California Supreme Court because the inmates have multiple felony convictions.

The decision has faced opposition from prosecutors and relatives of murder victims, with critics arguing that the governor’s action disregards jury verdicts and the position of California voters on capital punishment.

Newsom has opposed capital punishment throughout his political career and imposed a moratorium on executions in California in 2019. The state has not carried out an execution since 2006, although the death penalty remains legal.