State's death penalty comes under fire again in Legislature
OLYMPIA, Wash. -- The death penalty is coming under fire at the state Legislature as supporters say capital punishment is just too costly while opponents argue several recent cases point to why the death penalty is necessary.
It seems every year there is an effort to get rid of the death penalty, and this year the argument in favor of doing away with it is that it's just too costly in these tough economic times.
But the murder of correctional officer Jayme Biendl still very fresh in the minds of lawmakers.
The accused killer is Byron Scherf, a three-strikes convict serving a life sentence. He hasn't been charged yet in Biendl's murder and there's been no decision from the prosecutor on whether the death penalty will be sought.
But some lawmakers are worried of the effect in prison if there's no death penalty.
"But we will certainly always be remembering what happened and that a person who does have a life sentence has nothing to lose if they know they can't have a higher sentence," said Sen. Pam Roach, R-Auburn.
But proponents of the bill argue that it costs nearly a million dollars for each death penalty case. Only five inmates have been executed in the last 30 years; the most recent being Cal Brown just a few months ago.
The family member of a murder victim from the early 1980s testified their family didn't want to go through the pain of a drawn-out death penalty case that can often take up to 20 years: "And the perpetrators could rot in prison for the rest of their lives."
Plus there's the concern about executing the wrong person.
"When people in this country have been executed and we find out that they were wrongly executed, we can't bring that back to life," said Sen. Ed Murray, D-Seattle.
But when the case of Green River Killer Gary Ridgway is mentioned, it's clear many members of the committee aren't interested in abolishing the death penalty.
"In the case of Ridgway, I cant think of anybody in the U.S. who might be on death row that would more deserving than Ridgway," said Sen. Mike Carrell, R-Lakewood.
And one senator brought up the notion: What if the King County prosecutor didn't have the death penalty to use as a bargaining chip with Ridgway? Would he have told where victims were?
It seems every year there is an effort to get rid of the death penalty, and this year the argument in favor of doing away with it is that it's just too costly in these tough economic times.
But the murder of correctional officer Jayme Biendl still very fresh in the minds of lawmakers.
The accused killer is Byron Scherf, a three-strikes convict serving a life sentence. He hasn't been charged yet in Biendl's murder and there's been no decision from the prosecutor on whether the death penalty will be sought.
But some lawmakers are worried of the effect in prison if there's no death penalty.
"But we will certainly always be remembering what happened and that a person who does have a life sentence has nothing to lose if they know they can't have a higher sentence," said Sen. Pam Roach, R-Auburn.
But proponents of the bill argue that it costs nearly a million dollars for each death penalty case. Only five inmates have been executed in the last 30 years; the most recent being Cal Brown just a few months ago.
The family member of a murder victim from the early 1980s testified their family didn't want to go through the pain of a drawn-out death penalty case that can often take up to 20 years: "And the perpetrators could rot in prison for the rest of their lives."
Plus there's the concern about executing the wrong person.
"When people in this country have been executed and we find out that they were wrongly executed, we can't bring that back to life," said Sen. Ed Murray, D-Seattle.
But when the case of Green River Killer Gary Ridgway is mentioned, it's clear many members of the committee aren't interested in abolishing the death penalty.
"In the case of Ridgway, I cant think of anybody in the U.S. who might be on death row that would more deserving than Ridgway," said Sen. Mike Carrell, R-Lakewood.
And one senator brought up the notion: What if the King County prosecutor didn't have the death penalty to use as a bargaining chip with Ridgway? Would he have told where victims were?
