Democratic Washington Governor Jay Inslee has signed into law the bill that eliminates the death penalty in the state, as well as sterilization as a punishment, after both chambers approved the measure earlier this month.
During the signing, Governor Inslee recalled that since 2014 the state has imposed a moratorium against the death penalty, a punishment, he has denounced, that has been applied “unequally and racially insensitive”, and that already in 2018 the The state Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional.
The measure has been well received by defenders of civil liberties and those active in favor of the abolition of this punishment, since like the Democratic governor, they maintain that it is “arbitrary” and “discriminatory”, since racial prejudice plays a determining role in how it is applied, collects CNN.
However, for Republicans such as Washington State Congressman Jim Walshhan the measure is just “another sad example of the interests of criminals taking precedence over those of victims and their families,” he said on Facebook.
Since the US Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, Washington state has applied this punishment five times. Meanwhile, as of April 1, 2022, there are still 2,414 people on death row in the United States, according to official figures. This penalty is legal in 27 states.
