Los Angeles, Mar 13 (AFP) California Governor Gavin Newsom will impose a moratorium Wednesday on carrying out the death penalty, granting temporary reprieve to the 737 inmates on the state's death row, the largest in the United States.

"The death penalty is inconsistent with our bedrock values and strikes at the very heart of what it means to be a Californian," Newsom will say, according to prepared remarks.

The governor plans to sign an executive order to block the death penalty that will also withdraw California's lethal injection protocol and close the execution chamber at San Quentin prison, his office said.

It does not provide for the release of any death row inmates from prison. (AFP)

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