Should Washington Abolish The Death Penalty?

OLYMPIA, WA - Lawmakers in Olympia were set to begin discussions Monday on a bill that would abolish the death penalty in Washington. Attorney General Bob Ferguson is backing the bill along with other statewide Democrats and Republicans, even as Gov. Jay Inslee's death penalty moratorium remains in place.

The law, SB 6052, would replace the death penalty with life in prison without parole. King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg will testify Monday in the Senate Committee on Law and Justice.

Laws to abolish the death penalty have failed to pass in recent years. SB 6052 does not take a moral stance on the death penalty. Instead, sponsors claim the law will help counties save money. A typical death penalty case in Washington can cost upward of $1 million.

A bipartisan group of Puget Sound-area legislators are sponsoring the bill, including Patty Kuderer, Manka Dhingra, and Mark Miloscia. Last week, Ferguson held a press conference to support the bill featuring Republicans and Democrats, including former attorney general Rob McKenna.

In February 2014, Inslee announced he would issue a reprieve for any death penalty case. There are eight people on death row in Washington. Washington uses hanging and lethal injection as execution methods.

File photo by Kiichiro Sato/Associated Press