While there are valid reasons for opposing the death penalty in Washington, such a fundamental decision about life and death, crime and punishment, should be up to the people. Lawmakers are considering legislation to abolish capital punishment in the state, but they would better serve the public by sending the issue to voters.
In 1981, voters reinstated the death penalty in Washington. Since then, 33 people have been sentenced to die, and five have been executed. Eight currently are on death row, but in 2014, Gov. Jay Inslee announced a moratorium upon executions while he is in office. Meanwhile, a chorus of death-penalty critics has grown, and a legislative committee has approved Senate Bill 6052 to abolish the punishment, moving the issue along to the Rules Committee.
Dan Satterberg, King County prosecuting attorney and a Republican, recently wrote for The Seattle Times: “It is my duty to report that the death penalty law in our state is broken and cannot be fixed. It no longer serves the interests of public safety, criminal justice, or the needs of victims.”
Critics of the death penalty make several strong arguments. In one, the Associated Press has reported: “Turns out, it is cheaper to imprison killers for life than to execute them, according to a series of recent surveys. Tens of millions of dollars cheaper.” The appeals process and housing for death-row inmates drive up costs once a conviction is secured, but the added expenses begin long before that.
A Seattle University study has found that prosecution of potential death penalty cases costs about $1 million more than similar cases in which capital punishment is not sought. Because of that, many counties throughout Washington are unlikely to pursue the death penalty, regardless of the egregiousness of the crimes. As Satterberg wrote: “The truth is that smaller counties are not able to pursue the death penalty even if they wanted to.” If application of the death penalty depends upon a county’s resources, the punishment is inherently unfair and belies the very meaning of justice.
So, too, does the risk of wrongly convicting and executing an innocent defendant. The Death Penalty Information Center reports that since 1973, 152 death-row inmates across the United States have been exonerated.
On the other hand, longtime Clark County residents will remember the case of Westley Allan Dodd, who kidnapped, molested and murdered three young boys in Vancouver and was executed in 1993. It is difficult to argue that the interests of the public would be served if Dodd were still being housed and fed by the state. It is difficult to argue that justice for his victims and their families would be served if Dodd were still alive. Dodd’s execution might or might not serve as a deterrent for other would-be killers (numerous studies have reached conflicting conclusions in this regard), but at the least it ensures that Dodd cannot harm anybody else.
All of these issues should be considered and weighed by the people of Washington rather than being decided solely in Olympia. In a meeting last week with The Columbian’s Editorial Board, state Attorney General Bob Ferguson argued that legislators are hired to make difficult decisions and that they should abolish the death penalty in this state.
We respectfully disagree. When it comes to an issue that is so fundamental to who we are as a people and what we value as a society, the question should be put before the voters.
