does california have the death penalty

California still legally has the death penalty, but executions are currently halted and none have been carried out since 2006.

Current legal status

• Capital punishment remains legal under California law, and people can still be sentenced to death for certain murders with “special circumstances” (for example, multiple victims or killing a police officer).

• However, Governor Gavin Newsom issued a statewide moratorium on executions in 2019, which means the state will not carry out death sentences while that order remains in place.

What the moratorium means

• A moratorium does not repeal the death penalty; it just pauses executions, so death row inmates stay on death row or are resentenced, but are not executed.

• California still has one of the largest death rows in the United States, with around 580–600 people awaiting execution as of 2025, though that number has been shrinking due to resentencing, deaths, and legal changes.

Recent developments and trends

• In recent years, prosecutors in some counties have stopped seeking new death sentences and have actively reviewed old death penalty cases, leading to many resentencings to life without parole.

• At the same time, other local officials, such as the Los Angeles County district attorney elected in 2024, have said they are willing to seek the death penalty in certain extreme cases, even though the statewide moratorium still blocks executions.

Quick FAQ style recap

• Does California have the death penalty on the books? Yes, it is still lawful and can be sought in qualifying murder cases.

• Are executions happening right now? No; there has been a moratorium since 2019 and no execution since 2006.

• Is the death penalty likely to disappear soon? There are strong political and legal efforts to phase it out, but the Legislature and voters have not abolished it statewide yet.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.