Letter: Outlaw the death penalty in Washington state

The Seattle Times editorial, “Time for Washington to abandon the death penalty,” (TCH, Jan. 8) talked me into it — let’s outlaw the death penalty in Washington. It is too expensive to see a capital case through to its logical conclusion, there should be equal justice under the law and the deterrent effect remains unproven. Truly, God forbid the state should ever execute an innocent person.

While we’re saving all that public money and treating convicts equally, let’s stop paying to segregate prisoners like Clark Richard Elmore, who raped and murdered a child. That must cost an awful lot and segregation is so wrong. Release him back into the general prison population. Two birds with one stone so to speak.

The Times puzzlement as to why some states still allow the death penalty and others do not is disingenuous. The U.S. Constitution reserves that right and responsibility to the individual states. The death penalty may have lost favor with Washington state’s leaders, but I hope any permanent change in the law results from a vote of the people.

This story was originally published January 25, 2017 at 4:16 AM with the headline "Letter: Outlaw the death penalty in Washington state."