Washington Supreme Court tosses out state's death penalty

[Toronado3800]

I find it odd though, the Death Penalty, removing someone's right to life, is the ultimate in big government.

No it's not big government, it's carrying out the will of the people and protecting them in the process which is the main responsibility of government. Only few cases are we allowed to protect ourselves. If somebody kills my mother, I can't legally go out and kill them as much as I'd like to. Government needs to carry out my wishes.

The will of the people does not make it small government. If the people want the government to enforce a book burning campaign, its big government though.

I don't understand how this power over life and death is not the ultimate case of big government.

That said, I am very pro death penalty.

 

[Windparadox]

There are no people in prison for smoking pot. That's a leftist fairy tale. Most drug offenders are in prison for selling narcotics or being in the process of another crime while using/ in possession of narcotics.

`
I didn't say "smoking pot". - "An estimated 137,000 people are in prison today on a basic drug-possession charge. Approximately 65% of them sit in local jails, and most of them have yet to actually be accused of a crime. These unfortunate individuals may have to wait months to get their day in court because of their inability to post bail." - source
`

 

[Ray From Cleveland]

There are no people in prison for smoking pot. That's a leftist fairy tale. Most drug offenders are in prison for selling narcotics or being in the process of another crime while using/ in possession of narcotics.

`
I didn't say "smoking pot". - "An estimated 137,000 people are in prison today on a basic drug-possession charge. Approximately 65% of them sit in local jails, and most of them have yet to actually be accused of a crime. These unfortunate individuals may have to wait months to get their day in court because of their inability to post bail." - source
`

Your link is full of conflating accusations.

For one, they link possession without differentiating between possession and possession for sale. Nor do they differentiate between other drugs and pot. The difference is in the amount one was arrested for. In other words, you won't find any people in jail for having an ounce of marijuana.

Next they don't list these places where people are waiting "months" for a court hearing. Look......I live in the Cleveland area renown for drug use, and they try to move people through the system quickly to make room for new inmates.

People who cannot afford bail hire bail bondsmen. They typically only charge about 20% of the bail. So if the fine is $2,000, the amount they need for bail is around $400.00. If they or their family cannot come up with 400 bucks, WTF are they doing purchasing drugs?

However because their bail is likely more costly, it means they are in there for selling more than pot.

 

[Windparadox]

Your link is full of conflating accusations. For one, they link possession without differentiating between possession and possession for sale. Nor do they differentiate between other drugs and pot. The difference is in the amount one was arrested for. In other words, you won't find any people in jail for having an ounce of marijuana. Next they don't list these places where people are waiting "months" for a court hearing. Look......I live in the Cleveland area renown for drug use, and they try to move people through the system quickly to make room for new inmates.People who cannot afford bail hire bail bondsmen. They typically only charge about 20% of the bail. So if the fine is $2,000, the amount they need for bail is around $400.00. If they or their family cannot come up with 400 bucks, WTF are they doing purchasing drugs? However because their bail is likely more costly, it means they are in there for selling more than pot.

`
Your reply is an anecdotal opinion.

 

[Admiral Rockwell Tory]

There are no people in prison for smoking pot. That's a leftist fairy tale. Most drug offenders are in prison for selling narcotics or being in the process of another crime while using/ in possession of narcotics.

`
I didn't say "smoking pot". - "An estimated 137,000 people are in prison today on a basic drug-possession charge. Approximately 65% of them sit in local jails, and most of them have yet to actually be accused of a crime. These unfortunate individuals may have to wait months to get their day in court because of their inability to post bail." - source
`

BULL SHIT!

 

[JustAnotherNut]

I understand the arguments both for and against the death penalty, in response to this ruling however the news video made a good point. The only reason prosecutors were able to get the cooperation of the Green River killer Gary Ridgeway was because they were able to use the threat of the avoidance of the death penalty to strike a deal. Some people in my opinion deserve the same fate that they inflicted upon their victims and I think the option of being able to sentence those very aggregious offenders to death when it's certain that they committed the crime is something that should be available.

Washington Supreme Court tosses out state's death penalty

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Washington state's Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the death penalty, as applied, violates its Constitution.

The ruling Thursday makes Washington the latest state to do away with capital punishment. The court was unanimous in its order that the eight people currently on death row have their sentences converted to life in prison. Five justices said the "death penalty is invalid because it is imposed in an arbitrary and racially biased manner."

"Given the manner in which it is imposed, the death penalty also fails to serve any legitimate penological goals," the justices wrote.

Four other justices, in a concurrence, wrote that while they agreed with the majority's conclusions and invalidation of the death penalty, "additional state constitutional principles compel this result."

Gov. Jay Inslee, a one-time supporter of capital punishment, had imposed a moratorium on the death penalty in 2014, saying that no executions would take place while he's in office.

In a written statement, Inslee called the ruling "a hugely important moment in our pursuit for equal and fair application of justice."

"The court makes it perfectly clear that capital punishment in our state has been imposed in an 'arbitrary and racially biased manner,' is 'unequally applied' and serves no criminal justice goal," Inslee wrote.​

Thank you for that very good news.

I'm not in my home state of Washington right now so I didn't see the news.

I'm so proud of the judges on the Supreme Court of my state.

All of them are voted into office by the people so that court is made up of mostly liberal judges. Some of which I voted for.

I sure hope other states follow the example of mine.

Our government shouldn't be killing our citizens.

Life in prison with no chance for parole is the proper thing to do. Remove the person from society so they can't hurt anyone anymore.

Good...house and feed the murderers.

We can afford it.

My state stopped wasting money on prosecuting people for marijuana possession. So our prisons aren't packed with people who don't belong there wasting our tax dollars.

The people of my state would much rather house and feed them than lower ourselves to the level of that murderer by murdering them.

We prefer to be civilized human beings. Put them in prison for life with no chance of parole.

You aren't paying for it so what do you care?

I am paying for it and would prefer to do that instead of spending more money to kill them. It costs much more to kill a prisoner than it is to house and feed them.

I prefer my tax dollars house and feed them instead of becoming like that barbarian by killing them.

If you don't like it. Don't live in Washington.

Polly want a cracker?

Just because you like this bright idea doesn't mean everyone does.

 

[Ray From Cleveland]

Your link is full of conflating accusations. For one, they link possession without differentiating between possession and possession for sale. Nor do they differentiate between other drugs and pot. The difference is in the amount one was arrested for. In other words, you won't find any people in jail for having an ounce of marijuana. Next they don't list these places where people are waiting "months" for a court hearing. Look......I live in the Cleveland area renown for drug use, and they try to move people through the system quickly to make room for new inmates.People who cannot afford bail hire bail bondsmen. They typically only charge about 20% of the bail. So if the fine is $2,000, the amount they need for bail is around $400.00. If they or their family cannot come up with 400 bucks, WTF are they doing purchasing drugs? However because their bail is likely more costly, it means they are in there for selling more than pot.

`
Your reply is an anecdotal opinion.

In what way? I was only pointing out the errors with the link you posted.

Look, I'll even post an article from highly left-wing Politifact, and here is what they said:

Prisoner data

What the figures show is that possession itself isn’t usually enough to land someone in jail. Rather, those sentenced to prison for marijuana offenses were typically found to be committing crimes more serious than just possessing marijuana (or "smoking" it, as Sanders put it). Often, this means selling it or trafficking it.

The Justice Department estimated that 3.6 percent of state inmates in 2013 had drug possession as their most serious offense. That includes possession charges for all drugs, not just marijuana. To gauge the marijuana-only percentage, we have to go back to data that’s about a decade old.

The Justice Department periodically carries out surveys of inmates in state and federal correctional facilities, the last of which was from 2004. According to this study, only about three-tenths of 1 percent of state prison inmates were there because of marijuana possession alone, without a more serious charge.

Meanwhile, the statistics for federal inmates paint a similar picture.

The data shows that among the roughly 67,600 offenders sentenced to prison in federal criminal cases between Oct. 1, 2011 and Sept. 30, 2012, only 28 of them were incarcerated on drug-possession charges alone -- roughly four one-hundredths of 1 percent of all incarcerations. And that includes all drugs, not just marijuana.

Bernie Sanders says people are getting prison sentences for smoking marijuana

So you see, it's far from anecdotal, it's actually fact.