Gov. Newsom alleges racial bias in opposing a death penalty case

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday threw his support behind the appeal of a man on death row convicted of murder arguing in an amicus brief that "racial discrimination infects the administration of California's death penalty."

The decision to intervene in the death row case follows a promise by Newsom during his first term as governor that no prisoner in the state would be executed while he is in office, a pledge made when he imposed a moratorium on the death penalty.

"Since its inception, the American death penalty has been disproportionately applied, first, to enslaved Africans