Lawmakers consider bill to abolish death penalty
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - Efforts to abolish the death penalty have never gained political traction in Washington state, but supporters of the move aren't giving up.
The latest bill on the issue is sponsored by Democratic Rep. Reuven Carlyle of Seattle, who doesn't expect it to pass this year but says it will spur further debate at a time when public attitudes about capital punishment are changing.
"We are in the midst of a profound shift in thinking, in large part because of the impact of DNA testing," he said. "I believe the public is undergoing a rapid transformation in their view given the fact that we have repeated headlines about injustices in terms of the wrongly convicted."
The death penalty is currently used by the federal government and 33 states. Seventeen have abolished it, with Connecticut being the most recent last year, though its ban only applies to new cases.
A death penalty statute is still on the books in Oregon, but Gov. John Kitzhaber stopped an execution in 2011 and declared no one would be put to death during his time in office.
Several other states have introduced measures this year, including Nebraska, Montana and Maryland, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The Maryland state Senate is expected to vote Wednesday on its measure.
Carlyle's bill to end capital punishment in Washington also will receive a public hearing on Wednesday before the House Judiciary Committee. It's co-sponsored by 20 other lawmakers, including one Republican, Rep. Maureen Walsh of Walla Walla.
The last execution in the state came in September 2010, when Cal Coburn Brown died by lethal injection for the 1991 murder of a Seattle-area woman. After spending nearly 17 years on death row, he was the first Washington inmate executed since 2001.
Since 1904, 78 men have been put to death in Washington. Eight men are now on death row at the state penitentiary.
A coalition known as Safe and Just Alternatives was formed in 2011 to try to have the death penalty abolished in the state. Mishi Faruqee, the group's campaign manager, said that over the past year, it has been focused on community outreach on the issue.
Faruqee believes momentum is building in the state, even though bills introduced in past years to abolish the death penalty have not garnered much support.
"Given the budget shortfalls that Washington state is having, ending the death penalty is a very clear way for the state to save money," she said.
Death penalty cases cost about $470,000 more to prosecute and defend than aggravated murder cases that don't involve the death penalty, according to a 2006 Washington Bar report. On appeal, costs average about $100,000 more for death penalty cases than for non-death penalty cases.
Spending has become a key issue for lawmakers, who are in the midst of a 105-day legislative session aimed at patching a projected $1 billion deficit for the two-year budget ending in 2015. The figure does not include a court-ordered requirement to get more money into the education system.
Still, Sen. Mike Carrell, R-Lakewood, chairman of the Senate Human Services & Corrections panel, opposes any discussion of abolishing the death penalty.
"When I ask myself, what would the victims think justice is, I know what the answer is," he said. "The death penalty is appropriate for extreme cases."
A companion bill in the Senate hasn't received a public hearing this session. Republican Sen. Mike Padden of Spokane Valley, chairman of the Senate Law & Justice Committee, wouldn't say why, and he didn't want to talk about his thoughts on the death penalty unless the House measure advances and is sent to his committee.
The Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys is split on the issue and hasn't taken a position on the latest bill.
"We do defend the constitutionality of the current statute and how it has been applied in Washington state," Tom McBride, executive secretary of the association, wrote in an email. "The moral question as to whether to have a death penalty is appropriately decided by the Legislature."
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The death penalty abolition bill is House Bill 1504.
The latest bill on the issue is sponsored by Democratic Rep. Reuven Carlyle of Seattle, who doesn't expect it to pass this year but says it will spur further debate at a time when public attitudes about capital punishment are changing.
"We are in the midst of a profound shift in thinking, in large part because of the impact of DNA testing," he said. "I believe the public is undergoing a rapid transformation in their view given the fact that we have repeated headlines about injustices in terms of the wrongly convicted."
The death penalty is currently used by the federal government and 33 states. Seventeen have abolished it, with Connecticut being the most recent last year, though its ban only applies to new cases.
A death penalty statute is still on the books in Oregon, but Gov. John Kitzhaber stopped an execution in 2011 and declared no one would be put to death during his time in office.
Several other states have introduced measures this year, including Nebraska, Montana and Maryland, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The Maryland state Senate is expected to vote Wednesday on its measure.
Carlyle's bill to end capital punishment in Washington also will receive a public hearing on Wednesday before the House Judiciary Committee. It's co-sponsored by 20 other lawmakers, including one Republican, Rep. Maureen Walsh of Walla Walla.
The last execution in the state came in September 2010, when Cal Coburn Brown died by lethal injection for the 1991 murder of a Seattle-area woman. After spending nearly 17 years on death row, he was the first Washington inmate executed since 2001.
Since 1904, 78 men have been put to death in Washington. Eight men are now on death row at the state penitentiary.
A coalition known as Safe and Just Alternatives was formed in 2011 to try to have the death penalty abolished in the state. Mishi Faruqee, the group's campaign manager, said that over the past year, it has been focused on community outreach on the issue.
Faruqee believes momentum is building in the state, even though bills introduced in past years to abolish the death penalty have not garnered much support.
"Given the budget shortfalls that Washington state is having, ending the death penalty is a very clear way for the state to save money," she said.
Death penalty cases cost about $470,000 more to prosecute and defend than aggravated murder cases that don't involve the death penalty, according to a 2006 Washington Bar report. On appeal, costs average about $100,000 more for death penalty cases than for non-death penalty cases.
Spending has become a key issue for lawmakers, who are in the midst of a 105-day legislative session aimed at patching a projected $1 billion deficit for the two-year budget ending in 2015. The figure does not include a court-ordered requirement to get more money into the education system.
Still, Sen. Mike Carrell, R-Lakewood, chairman of the Senate Human Services & Corrections panel, opposes any discussion of abolishing the death penalty.
"When I ask myself, what would the victims think justice is, I know what the answer is," he said. "The death penalty is appropriate for extreme cases."
A companion bill in the Senate hasn't received a public hearing this session. Republican Sen. Mike Padden of Spokane Valley, chairman of the Senate Law & Justice Committee, wouldn't say why, and he didn't want to talk about his thoughts on the death penalty unless the House measure advances and is sent to his committee.
The Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys is split on the issue and hasn't taken a position on the latest bill.
"We do defend the constitutionality of the current statute and how it has been applied in Washington state," Tom McBride, executive secretary of the association, wrote in an email. "The moral question as to whether to have a death penalty is appropriately decided by the Legislature."
___
The death penalty abolition bill is House Bill 1504.
Do they realize by not utilizing the death sentence we would have to spend MORE TAX DOLLARS to build MORE PRISONS!! Ummmmmmm I don;t know about you all, but I see MORE STUPID COMING ON!!!
They would never have to vote to abolish the death penalty if they would fricken just do the job!! People are sentenced to death and then they sit there wasting so many millions if not billions of our tax dollars feeding their as#$678ssess...clothing and allowing them to play games and watch TV...Come on!! These people who find it so very easy to take other people's lives by MURDER, should not be fit to use our tax dollars!!
NEVER EVER NEVER DO AWAY WITH THE DEATH PENALTY AND BEGIN TO USE IT FOR A CHANGE!!Â
Stop allowing them to sit in prison for up to 30 years before their sentence is handed down!!
For PETE"S SAKE PEOPLE!! STUPID AGAIN!!!???
This is going to sound off topic but I have an idea to put our overflowing prisons to good use and get rid of the illegal immigration problem at the same time. Many say that the jobs illegals do are jobs US citizens wouldn't do anyways. Why not give the prisoners the bad jobs we don't want to do. Actually get some of our $50,000+ a year we spend on them back.Â
Also, I can't think of a better way to actually rehabilitate a person than with good honest work. Actually building something, feeling like you are a part of something. That can do wonders. But, that would be too weird. A prison actually rehabilitating someone?
The problem with the death penalty is the endless appeals process. they allow lawyer after lawyer to file motion after motion, some of these lawyers have nothing to do with the case. and this tactic of saying "he wasn't given competent defense" after ten different lawyers got their fingers in the pie, everything is delay tactics. First, all appeals will be heard within one year of conviction and sentencing to death. 2nd , Prior to execution date being set in 2nd year, a full review by a court of appeals, then execution date set. 3rd 1 final appeal to supreme court, then proceed to Execution.  Process takes less than 3 years. Until this becomes law , the death penalty as it stands now is just a life in prison at 3 times the cost.
The death penalty will be abolished until someone high up on the social food chain, like a celebrity, senator, congressman, billionairre, or even the president has one of their loved ones brutally murdered, raped, or both. THEN, we will see a completely different stance on the subject. I personally think we should have public executions like they did in the old days. It was a great crime deterrant. Imagine if Tuba Man's punk killers had witnessed some punk just like them swinging high from the gallows when they were about 10. They would fear punishment, and Tuba Man would be alive.
@Takamine if public execution was a great crime deterrent... how come they had so many???
In comparison to today, the crime rate was MUCH lower. It's all good though. I teach mine to defend themselves. We carry, we train, and we're prepared for one of these vermin to try something.Unlike the sheep that keep releasing them into society after a slap on the hiney, WE will not allow ourselves to be victims of a broken justice system.
Anyone who feels the death penalty should be taken off the table needs to look at a picture of Jayme Biendle and then imagine telling her family and co-workers that they should just give Brian Scherf a hug and forget he killed her. Scherf is serving a life without parole sentence. He was when he killed Jayme. It didn't stop him. Just because we lock up animals like him doesn't mean they stop committing crimes. Sick, rabid animals like him need to be put down. It's only humane.
We should really lock them up, not give them chapel and art classes. Lock them up, 23 hours a day in a cell with bread and water. No tv, no nothing. Still don't think that we should kill them though. Too many people have been found innocent years later and there are still many corrupt cops and prosecutors (even though I believe 95% of them are good).Â
@sometimesright Yes, lots of people have been found innocent years later but that's only because of DNA testing which we now have for crimes that are committed. Punishment for crimes in this nation is a joke, that's one reason we have so many repeat offenders. We should be strengthening punishment, not making it easier.
For once I agree with this legislature. Get rid of this archaic punishment. Until you can show me a way to ensure that somone is 100% guilty and there is no way that an innocent person will ever be executed, then I am for getting rid of it. No government should have the power to kill its citizens, even the worst of them. More often than not when a government has this power, it is eventually abused.
@sometimesright  Better idea.  Keep it until you can show us all that there will be no killings by the likes of Ted Bundy, Charles Campbell, Brian Scherff, the Tuba Man killers and the list goes on.  Repeat offenders, you know, kill people even after they have been sent to prison.  And they even kill while in jail.  As long as people like these are alive there is a far bigger risk of them killing again than there is, or ever was of an innocent person being put to death in WA.  And, there is absolutely nothing that ensures that life without parole is really life without parole.  A pardon happy, bleeding heart governor or one of our series of idiotic legislative bodies can undo anything  but a completed death sentence.Â
We should eliminate life in prison and replace it with a death penalty express lane. If its been decided you can't be a part of society you have no reason to be alive.Â
Yawn, what next from this legislature?Â
"Death penalty cases cost about $470,000 more to prosecute and defend than aggravated murder cases that don't involve the death penalty, according to a 2006 Washington Bar report. On appeal, costs average about $100,000 more for death penalty cases than for non-death penalty cases."Â
Yet they don't mention the cost to keep a person behind bars for life vs the few years a convict would get before lethal injection. An overall cost should be shown to do a better financial comparison since tax payers foot the bill.
well if they couldnt even manage to get the death sentence for the green river killer, it is a broken method of punishment when a guy kills 50 or some odd women and doesnt get the death penalty.make it fare and then its a reasonable form of punishment,but that single court case made it a hard sell in washington.i agree its a great deterrent to be used,but its a unfair method to use it on one murderer and not another.
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@Donacita Ironic that you quote the Old Testament to support your opinion, but conveniently leave out all the New Testament where Jesus tells you to forgive. Nothing quite like religious cherry picking and hypocrisy.Â
@Donacita "An eye for and eye and the whole world will be blind."Â Ghandi
Apes don't kill apes.
@SandyBeach Â
Wrong.
@Bornhere @SandyBeach so if that's wrong... that would make us like what.... Apes?
You can't let expediency and the economic bottom line be the deciding factor in everything. It's a slippery slope. Principles are worth keeping. Our system simply isn't the easiest or least expensive system in the world. In fact it's the hardest and probably the most expensive. It wasn't designed by and for lazy people. It takes everybody to be involved, and THERE is the problem. If you want a cheap and easy society please go somewhere else.
Keep the damn death penalty. Want to save money, USE IT! Actually EXECUTE those on death row, then you'll be saving money.Â
But this isn't about saving The State money or Human Interest. It's about how much money they keep. See, if you put people in prison, the system GETS Federal Money to have them in there. The more prisoners the more $ they get. If you execute those on death row, you have to have others to put on to death row, which interrupts The States in flow of Federal Money. Works the same way with private prisons.Â
"A coalition known as Safe and Just Alternatives was formed in 2011 to try to have the death penalty abolished in the state. Mishi Faruqee, the group's campaign manager, said that over the past year, it has been focused on community outreach on the issue."
"Given the budget shortfalls that Washington state is having, ending the death penalty is a very clear way for the state to save money," she said.
Fixing the DOT and other wasteful state government spending is an even better way for the state to save money.
How many death sentence prisoners have been wrongly executed in this state? How many mistakes has the DOT made? Too many to list, but surely the cost must be more than having a state death penalty.Â
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The death penalty may cost more to prosecute, but how much does it cost to house and take care of the inmates? Then also consider the parole costs if they ever get out...Â
I don't think we use the death penalty enough.
@Tattooed_Angel2Â google 'cost of death penalty vs life in prison' and you will find many articles indicating that it costs more to execute them than it does to house them. Â For instance a Fox news article (news organization most likely to be pro execution) indicated that it cost the state of Maryland 1.9 million more dollars to try a death penalty case than a non death penalty case. Â I can warehouse a prisoner a long time for 2 million dollars. Â Further, due to the appeals processes, many of which are mandatory, the prisoner will be housed for many years already. Â The cost of the trial, the cost of appeals, the cost of keeping someone on death row until the execution can happen, and the cost of the actual execution doesn't justify the costs of the death penalty . Â Given the cost involved, the risk of killing an innocent person, and the infrequency that we ever execute anybody, we should get rid of the death penalty. Â
My alternative to death penalty is to lock them in a cell with no contact other than their lawyer.  No TV, no weight room, no exercise yard, no work release, etc.  Lock them up and keep them there.  If by chance they are found innocent, then you can release them.  One luxury we might want to afford them in their cell, a gun with a single bullet.  They can take the easy way out and shoot themselves if they want an early release.
Yeah, just as soon as William Billy Chambers is executed, THEN you can talk about abolishing the death penalty, but not before!
Frankly, we need to expand the use of the death penalty. Â For people concerned with "gun violence", maybe we need to stiffen those sentences so that ANY felony committed with a firearm invokes an automatic death penalty. Â That's one sure way of getting rid of the gang bangers and other criminals who use firearms in commission of a crime. Â It truly penalizes the criminal, and not the law-abiding citizen, as with all the rest of these proposed "feel good" laws.
For those concerned about the cost of the death penalty, look at the Montfort case reported in the news. Â So far public defenders (paid for by you and me) have spent OVER 2 million dollars for his defense. Â That's not including the prosecuting attorneys costs and the cost of housing him so far. Â If convicted or found to be "mentally incompetent", it will cost well over $1 million a year to keep that person alive and guarded. Â Look at the other outstanding convicts, such as Charles Manson. Â
Are these really the type of people you want to be paying for for the rest of their lives?
Washington has the death penalty? How in the heck did that ever happen in the Hug-a-Thug state...
I am related to one of the law enforcement officers who worked in Glenwood Springs Colorado when Ted Bundy was in their local jail. Â This is the jail from which Bundy escaped then made his way to Florida where killed a pre-teen girl and some college women. Â Bundy made it clear to those who had to be around him that he had killed far more than he was officially suspected and would kill again if he ever got free. Â Fortunately Florida captured him, tried and convicted him then put him to death. Â In his case, Â he made it clear he would kill again and escaped to do it. Â I have no doubt that he would have killed yet again if he was not executed, either by escaping prison, or killing a guard or prisoner in FL. Â When I think of the death penalty, I wonder how many innocent lives it has saved. Â I hate that it can be given in error, though DNA being an essential element of ordering it would help. Â That it costs so much could be dealt with, again with DNA evidence. Â Some people simply forfeit the right to be among us and they should be sent on their merry way to their maker.
Two problems I have with the death penalty. Â First is the cost. Â It costs us more to execute someone than it does to keep them in prison for life. Â The second problem is the potential of mistakes. Â If we kill someone and later DNA evidence (or some other method) proves the person innocent, than we can't free them. Â Mistakes do happen and there are several cases where innocent people have been executed.
I prefer to lock them in a cell with no way out. Â Give them all the time they want/need to appeal. Â It will be cheaper and we won't kill an innocent person.
@VandalDad In most cases where a person has been wrongfully sentenced to death you can trace it back to illegal behavior of the prosecuting teams. Usually the district attorney because thats a public position and he wants to make a name for themselves to run for higher office. Prosecutors have too much power especially here in Washington state. Here a persecutor can have judge removed from a case for any reason, the defense lawyer can't do that. Its a slanted system of justice that benefits the wealthy but leaves the poor high and dry.
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@the unvarnished truth @Blindman If it is found that the prosecutor used illegal means after the person is executed, executing the prosecutor doesn't magically bring the innocent back to life. You're talking about compounding the problem.Â
@Blindman So why do all the violent repeat offenders get off with light sentences all the time?
The most dangerous animal on earth is ensuring it is the only animal left on this earth. Some human animals deserve to be eradicated. The taxpayers pay to defend them in court, and pay to keep them alive, feed and healthy for the rest of their undeserved lives. Stop killing four-legged animals and start killing demented two-legged ones!
Normally I am not one for serious penalties as in eye for an eye but if someone is found guilty with DNA, eyewitnesses and just about everything you can think of and is convicted of murder of any degree. They should be given 3 years to prove they are innocent. If they fail to then it's time to meet their maker. Bring back the chain gangs. And put in an express lane to the needle or the noose.
Cleaning out death row will help save some funds that can be applied to the education system that is failing kids today in WA. St.
Maybe we should be more concerned with getting to the truth in these trials. There are so many rules and regulations about what can and can not be introduced as evidence. It works both ways people who are guilty are also allowed to walk. You get prosecutors and defense in a "winner take all" mode and sometimes the truth is the last thing on their minds in a trial. In my mind there is also no need for a trial to cost that much, I suspect those bills are somewhat padded somewhere.
This is one area I really don't want to budge. They have taken it away before and crime went up.
If life in prison really meant life in prison and not 15 or 20 years then maybe. I would also offer the criminal a choice. Life or Death.
@mstipton Why offer the criminal a choice? They didn't offer their victim/s a choice.
Ah, the thug huggers are moving the ball to the next yard line. Next victims families will be expected to apoligize to murderers.
After what I just read about the Tuba Man killer only getting 6 years for his 3rd felony conviction, I would've thought we already abolished it a long time ago! Not like we have any justice anymore anyway!
@Zoso The legislatures decided it was a good idea to take the right of fair sentencing away from our publicly elected judges. So all they can do is follow the guidelines set out by our legislature. And then of course with no mental health available in this state these really sick people fall through the cracks.
"We are in the midst of a profound shift in thinking, in large part because of the impact of DNA testing," he said. "I believe the public is undergoing a rapid transformation in their view given the fact that we have repeated headlines about injustices in terms of the wrongly convicted."
 If you use DNA to convict, where's the problem? Â
Usually, the problem is that they convict on weak evidence and refuse to examine new DNA evidence. In these cases, the death penalty should be abandoned.
Â
Wow... this is one topic for me personally- I am on the fence. The idea of an innocent person being put to death is abhorrent. Whereas, someone like Westley Allen Dodd not only had it coming, but he himself insisted on the execution.
There is one movie that I might recommend. At the Death House Door.  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0929235/Â
I don't expect anyone here to actually watch it... but it was a fantastic documentary. One that will make you think. As mentioned... the recent influx of Death Row acquittals is alarming.
sounds like we can save some money by executing those deserving individuals faster. Lets see... 500K for the trial, one appeal.. so we are up to 600K. Expedite the cases so they are complete in 2 years, so another 100K...up to 700K...Â
If one stays in prison for 20 years, they have spent 1million on them already... so, expedite the executions, to occur in under 2 years. Life sentances without parole = Death sentance.. execute them for the good of the state.. Taxpayers should not be forced to pay for their upkeep..
It's not a crime deterant so I really don't see why it exists. TX is a good example of why it shouldn't considering they've executed men  while holding the proof that they were innocent.  If even one innocent person is killed it isn't worth it. We've released so many people based off of new evidence and witnesses recanting.
@quidproquo Â
Make the executions public.
@quidproquo Actually it does prevent the person executed from ever ever ever ever commiting another crime.
@Nitroxman @quidproquo Of course it also prevents the state from ever ever ever ever releasing them and making amends if he/she is wrongly convicted and executed.
@EMDF9AÂ
And if a frog had a glass ass...
The only reason it isn't a crime deterrant, is that it doesn't happen fast.. or at all in some cases..
@quidproquo hogwash... it is a great for leverage.... Look at Gary Ridgeway.
@Luciferian @quidproquo The problem with Gary Ridgeway is that he is a perfect example of justice not being equal justice for all. Yes, the plea bargain gave some closure to several more cases but certainly not all of them. Plea bargains are most often entered into when the prosecution doesn't think it can get a conviction for the more severe crimes that the perp most probably committed. An easier way out for prosecutors? Probably.