Senate votes out death penalty

OLYMPIA — The state Senate voted 26-22 to repeal the death penalty Wednesday night, rejecting several Republican amendments without debate to the consternation of minority leadership.

The bill, which had a Republican primary sponsor, would end the possibility for a death penalty conviction, instead allowing for a maximum of life without parole. The bulk of support for the proposal came from Democrats but both parties experienced division. Four Democrats voted against the bill, while five Republicans voted for it.

The bill’s primary sponsor, Sen. Maureen Walsh, R-Walla Walla, had a heart attack early February and spoke on the floor in support of the legislation just days after returning to work. Walsh said that she understood the passionate opposition of some of her colleagues, but that “we’ve made some mistakes and put innocent people to death.”

“I have no sympathy for killers, that’s not why I’m doing this,” Walsh said. “If this was my family, I would want to rip them apart with my bare hands, but sometimes rights need to prevail.”

Additionally, the death penalty has been brought disproportionately often against members of certain demographics, Walsh said. Three out of the eight prisoners on death row in Washington are African-American, though only one out of 25 Washingtonians is African-American, according to the 2010 census.

Sen. Mark Miloscia, R-Federal Way, a Catholic, spoke in support of the proposal Wednesday, a cross of ashes on his forehead.

“This is Ash Wednesday, where we’re supposed to reflect on our sins,” Miloscia said. “We’ve been taught, no exceptions, to take care of our brothers and sisters, from conception to old age. I am asking for mercy for the worst amongst us.”

Attempts by Republicans to introduce amendments that carve out exemptions were stopped in their tracks. Chief among these exemptions was that proposed by Sen. Steve O’Ban, R-Tacoma, which would have allowed for the death penalty in the case of aggravated first degree murder if the victim was a law enforcement officer.

“If the government chooses to take life, it should do that deliberatively, with solemnity,” O’Ban said. “If someone takes the life of a law enforcement officer, that individual is choosing to take the life of someone who represents civilization. We have to retain the ultimate penalty when the law and the respect for law is being violated in such a clear and violent way.”

Another amendment would have allowed for the death penalty if an individual sentenced to death would prefer to be put to death, but this would not have circumvented the timely, costly process of a death penalty hearing. This amendment was also thrown out by procedural ruling without debate.

Lt. Gov. Cyrus Habib rejected the amendments without debate on a technicality, saying they were outside the object of the bill at hand.

Sen. Joe Fain, R-Auburn, who would vote to pass the bill minutes later, appealed the ruling of the lieutenant governor. In an interview with the Columbia Basin Herald Friday, Fain called Habib’s decision to halt debate deeply troubling.

“It’s truly the most egregious thing that I’ve seen in the way of a parliamentary proceeding,” Fain said. “If one person or one party can just randomly say that we’re not going to debate an issue or discuss an issue, that’s a terrible abuse of power.”

This ruling, Fain said, would have far reaching repercussions if applied evenly, limiting the ability of the legislature to work out different rules for different classes.

“The proof how egregious this was came on the very first amendment on the very next bill,” Fain said. Democrats attempted to bring an amendment to the floor for a bill regarding Orcas that Fain said had the exact same issues with it. When he argued against the amendment on the same grounds as the lieutenant governor’s ruling, Democrats were forced to withdraw the amendment, Fain said.

Senate minority leader Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, expressed his dissatisfaction with the lieutenant governor’s decision on the Senate floor Wednesday.

“I’m disappointed that this body was not allowed the right to debate these heinous crimes,” Schoesler said. “Our ability to debate and vote was stifled today.”

Schoesler said he also wasn’t certain that murderers would not end up back on Washington’s streets as a result of this bill.

“I have no trust in judiciary that life without parole really means life without parole,” Schoesler said. “In our court system today, does anyone really have absolute trust in anything? I don’t.”