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Gov. Jay Inslee said Tuesday he was suspending the use of the death penalty in Washington state, announcing a move that he hopes will enable officials to "join a growing national conversation about capital punishment."
The Democrat said he came to the decision after months of review, meetings with family members of victims, prosecutors and law enforcement.
"There have been too many doubts raised about capital punishment, there are too many flaws in this system today," Inslee said at a news conference. "There is too much at stake to accept an imperfect system."
Inslee said that the use of the death penalty is inconsistent and unequal. The governor's staff briefed lawmakers about the move on Monday night and Tuesday morning.
Inslee's moratorium, which will be in place for as long as he is governor, means that if a death penalty case comes to his desk, he will issue a reprieve, which isn't a pardon and doesn't commute the sentences of those condemned to death.
"During my term, we will not be executing people," said Inslee, who was elected in 2012. "Nobody is getting out of prison, period."
Last year, Maryland abolished the death penalty, the 18th state to do so and the sixth in the last six years.
Nine men await execution at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla. The state Supreme Court just last month rejected a petition for release from death row inmate Jonathan Lee Gentry, sentenced for the murder of a 12-year-old girl in 1988. Gentry could be the first execution in the state since September 2010, when Cal Coburn Brown died by lethal injection for the 1991 murder of a Seattle-area woman. A federal stay had recently been lifted in Gentry's case, and a remaining state stay on his execution was expected to be lifted this month.
The decision by the governor comes following a recent decision by the state Department of Corrections, which is in the process of changing its execution protocol to allow witnesses to executions to see the entire process, including the insertion of intravenous catheters during a lethal injection.
The new witness protocol, currently a draft that is in its final stages of approval, includes the use of television monitors to show the inmate entering the death chamber and being strapped down, as well as the insertion of the IVs, which had both previously been shielded from public view.
Through public disclosure requests, The Associated Press had sought information about any potential changes to the execution protocols. State corrections officials spoke with the AP about the new procedures late last month.
The change is in response to a 2012 federal appeals court ruling that said all parts of an execution must be fully open to public witnesses. That ruling was sparked by a case brought by The AP and other news organizations who challenged Idaho's policy to shield the insertion of IV catheters from public view, in spite of a 2002 ruling from the same court that said every aspect of an execution should be open to witnesses.
Source: AP, Feb. 11, 2014
Washington Governor Inslee’s remarks announcing a capital punishment moratorium
Feb. 11, 2014
Good morning.
I’m here today to talk to you about an important criminal justice issue.
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WA Governor Inslee
Over the course of the past year, my staff and I have been carefully reviewing the status of capital punishment in Washington State.
We’ve spoken to people in favor and strongly opposed to this complex and emotional issue, including law enforcement officers, prosecutors, former directors of the Department of Corrections, and the family members of the homicide victims.
We thoroughly studied the cases that condemned nine men to death. I recently visited the state penitentiary in Walla Walla and I spoke to the men and women who work there. I saw death row and toured the execution chamber, where lethal injections and hangings take place.
Following this review, and in accordance with state law, I have decided to impose a moratorium on executions while I’m Governor of the state of Washington.
Equal justice under the law is the state’s primary responsibility. And in death penalty cases, I’m not convinced equal justice is being served.
The use of the death penalty in this state is unequally applied, sometimes dependent on the budget of the county where the crime occurred.
Let me acknowledge that there are many good protections built into Washington State’s death penalty law.
But there have been too many doubts raised about capital punishment. There are too many flaws in the system. And when the ultimate decision is death there is too much at stake to accept an imperfect system.
Let me say clearly that this policy decision is not about the nine men currently on death row in Walla Walla.
I don’t question their guilt or the gravity of their crimes. They get no mercy from me.
This action today does not commute their sentences or issue any pardons to any offender.
But I do not believe their horrific offenses override the problems that exist in our capital punishment system.
And that’s why I am imposing a moratorium on executions. If a death penalty case comes to my desk for action, I will issue a reprieve.
What this means is that those on death row will remain in prison for the rest of their lives. Nobody is getting out of prison -- period.
I have previously supported capital punishment. And I don’t question the hard work and judgment of the county prosecutors who bring these cases or the judges who rule on them.
But my review of the law in Washington State and my responsibilities as Governor have led me to reevaluate that position.
I recognize that many people will disagree with this decision. I respect everyone's beliefs on this and have no right to question or judge them.
With my action today I expect Washington State will join a growing national conversation about capital punishment. I welcome that and I’m confident that our citizens will engage in this very important debate.
I’d like to tell Washingtonians about what lead me to this decision.
First, the practical reality is that those convicted of capital offenses are, in fact, rarely executed. Since 1981, the year our current capital laws were put in place, 32 defendants have been sentenced to die. Of those, 19, or 60%, had their sentences overturned. One man was set free and 18 had their sentences converted to life in prison.
When the majority of death penalty sentences lead to reversal, the entire system itself must be called into question.
Second, the costs associated with prosecuting a capital case far outweigh the price of locking someone up for life without the possibility of parole.
Counties spend hundreds of thousands of dollars – and often many millions -- simply to get a case to trial.
And after trial, hundreds of thousands of dollars are spent on appellate costs for decades.
Studies have shown that a death penalty case from start to finish is more expensive than keeping someone in prison for the rest of their lives – even if they live to be 100 years of age.
Third, death sentences are neither swift nor certain. Seven of the nine men on death row committed their crimes more than 15 years ago, including one from 26 years ago. While they sit on death row and pursue appeal after appeal, the families of their victims must constantly revisit their grief at the additional court proceedings.
Fourth, there is no credible evidence that the death penalty is a deterrent to murder. That’s according to work done by the National Academy of Sciences, among other groups.
And finally, our death penalty is not always applied to the most heinous offenders.
That is a system that falls short of equal justice under the law and makes it difficult for the State to justify the use of the death penalty.
In 2006, state Supreme Court Justice Charles Johnson wrote that in our state, “the death penalty is like lightening, randomly striking some defendants and not others.”
I believe that’s too much uncertainty.
Therefore, for these reasons, pursuant to RCW 10.01.120, I will use the authority given to the Office of the Governor to halt any death warrant issued in my term.
I will take your questions.

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