Effort to abolish death penalty in Washington gains steam after it clears Senate committee
A bill proposing the abolition of Washington’s death penalty has been voted out of a state Senate committee. The move reflects the latest — and what some lawmakers say is the strongest — push to replace capital punishment with life imprisonment without parole.
The chairman of the Law and Justice committee, state Sen. Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, voted with three other committee members Thursday to advance the bill. Pedersen has said the vote represents the first time any bill to ban the death penalty has made it out of a legislative committee in the five years he’s served in the Senate — and possibly ever.
Three Republicans, including Sen. Jan Angel, R-Port Orchard, and Sen. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley, the prior committee chair, voted no. Padden supported two amendments that were voted down. One would have retained the death penalty for the murder of a police or correctional officer; the other would have asked for a public referendum on whether to keep the sentence.
“Since this was passed by an initiative of the people, which I believe is a directive to us, this needs to go back to the people to ask them whether this law should stay in effect or whether it should be repealed,” Angel said after the committee meeting.
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