[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, VA., FLA., ALA., OHIO, KY., TENN., UTAH, CALIF., WASH.

[Rick Halperin]

January 9



TEXAS:

Supreme Court rejects appeal from former Missouri City cop on death row



The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned down an appeal from a former Missouri 
City police officer convicted of hiring a hitman to kill his wife, 1 of 2 
Houston-area death row losses in the high court this week.

Though he has consistently maintained his innocence, Robert Fratta was 
sentenced to death in 1996 after a Harris County jury found him guilty of 
masterminding a murder-for-hire plot designed to do away with his wife Farah.

"I'm completely innocent of my wife Farah's death," Fratta wrote in an appeal 
he filed himself, alleging he was framed by his slain wife's father. "The 
evidence was also legally insufficient. Yet here I set on Texas Death Row 
awaiting execution unless this Court intervenes."

Robert and Farah Fratta were embroiled in a heated divorce and custody battle 
when the 34-year-old mother was shot in the head while stepping out of her car 
at their home.

The ex-officer and erstwhile firefighter was at church at the time, but 
investigators flagged him as a suspect in part because he'd reportedly asked 
around for a hitman before the crime. In the end, prosecutors said, he hired 
Joseph Prystash, who in turn hired a 3rd man to carry out the killing. All 
three men are now on death row.

Written from a prison typewriter, the appeal the court declined to review on 
Monday raised a slew of questions including everything from claims about 
allegedly ineffective lawyers to insufficiency of the evidence used to convict 
him and problems with jury instructions during his trial.

But at the heart of the claim are questions about whether Fratta was allowed to 
file his own appeals in tandem with attorneys' filings - something lower courts 
did not let him do, repeatedly ignoring some of the claims he filed himself.

"The rule of law is taking another hit," said attorney James Rytting, who 
represents the condemned former officer. "Robert Fratta's trial was deeply 
flawed, (he) proved that himself and was penalized for figuring out serious 
problems with his trial on his own and for trying to bring them to the courts' 
attention."

In addition to turning down Fratta's case, the court declined to review the 
conviction of Shelton Jones, who was convicted of the 1991 killing Houston 
police officer Bruno D. Soboleski.

Neither Jones nor Fratta has an execution date set.

(source: Houston Chronicle)








VIRGINIA:

Judge denies request for jury questionnaire in MS-13 case



Attorneys won’t use questionnaires to vet jurors who might decide a trial for 
an alleged gang member and murder defendant who could face the death penalty, a 
judge determined Tuesday.

Kevin Josue Soto Bonilla, 21, will be the 2nd co-defendant to face trial in the 
murder case of Lynchburg teen Raymond Wood.

The 1st, 21-year-old Victor Arnoldo Rodas, was found guilty of first-degree 
murder and other charges in an October trial. The jury recommended he spend 55 
years in prison.

Bedford County Circuit Court Judge James Updike is scheduled to review Rodas’ 
sentencing on Feb. 15, and Soto Bonilla is set for a 10-day jury trial to start 
Feb. 26, according to Commonwealth’s Attorney Wes Nance.

In recent months, Soto Bonilla’s attorneys have filed a number of motions to 
ensure he receives a fair trial. Since he is charged with capital murder, 
Virginia law requires the court to appoint him 2 certified attorneys.

One of the lawyers, Anthony Anderson, said the capital nature of the case and 
the fact that Nance has filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty 
warrants enhanced discretion in jury selection.

A sample juror questionnaire filed by the attorneys asks 42 questions. Some of 
them include, “Do you believe that members of some racial or ethnic groups are 
more violent than others?” and, “Are you aware of holding any negative feelings 
or opinions towards people who illegally immigrated to the United States?” 
Others ask about knowledge of the case from news coverage, opinion on the death 
penalty and the MS-13 gang.

Nance pointed out in court that the 10-day allowance for trial should provide 
enough time to talk with jurors, and many answers on the questionnaire might 
prompt further questions and discussions in court anyway. Updike referenced his 
experience as a prosecutor to say he hasn’t found jury questionnaires actually 
save time in the selection process and denied the motion.

Soto Bonilla’s attorneys also sought to try the case in a jurisdiction other 
than Bedford County, citing potential pre-formed and “vehemently held” views on 
the case and topics like border security. Nance said publicity of the killing 
and Rodas’ trial alone isn’t enough to move the trial, and there were only 
quick references to Soto Bonilla during the trial.

Updike took that motion under advisement, meaning he will rule on it at a later 
date.

A number matters in the case will be argued on Jan. 25.

(source: News & Advance)








FLORIDA:

Florida Supreme Court upholds death sentence for Titusville woman convicted of 
murder



The Florida Supreme Court affirmed a Titusville woman's death sentence Monday, 
after years of appeals.

Margaret Allen, 52, was found guilty of torturing and murdering her former 
housekeeper, Wanda Wright, in 2005 after a dispute over possible stolen money. 
A jury in 2011 unanimously recommended the death penalty for Allen after she 
and two associates disposed of Wright's body in a wooded area near Mims.

Court records show Allen accosted Wright after a missing purse with $2,000 
inside. When Wright denied stealing the money, Allen began beating her before 
pouring bleach and other household chemicals down her mouth.

Allen then put tape over the victim's mouth and strangled her to death with a 
belt at her Robbins Avenue home.

Two accomplices, James Martin and Quinton Allen, were convicted of helping 
Allen bury Wright's body in a remote area of Brevard County near State Road 46 
in February of 2005.

Allen was convicted in 2011. Her sentence was upheld by an appellate court in 
2013. She continued her appeals to the Florida Supreme Court.

(source: Florida Today)








ALABAMA:

Cantrell faces death penalty in Limestone murder



1 of 2 men charged with capital murder in the fatal shooting of a Madison man 
in 2016 will face the death penalty when he is tried in Limestone County, an 
official said today.

District Attorney Brian Jones had asked the Limestone County Circuit Court to 
allow the state, as represented by the DA's office, to seek the death penalty 
for Trevor Davis Cantrell, 21, of 7900 Old Madison Pike, Madison, if he is 
convicted. Circuit Judge Robert Baker granted the request today. No solid trial 
date has been set.

Cantrell and Dacedric Deshun Ward, 24, of 122 Sweet Hollow Way, Madison, are 
charged with capital murder and 1st-degree robbery in connection with the Dec. 
26, 2016, fatal shooting of Jason Ender West, 18, of Madison, at the Sonic 
restaurant on County Line Road in Madison-annexed Limestone County.

West had gone to the Sonic parking lot to buy Xanax from Ward and Cantrell, 
according to court records. The 2 men intended to rob West, but Ward pulled a 
gun and shot West, who died a short time later at Huntsville Hospital, records 
show.

West graduated from James Clemens High School mid-year and was heading to 
college, his parents have said.

The state has so far not sought the death penalty for Ward, records show. Jones 
said that is because Ward's defense attorney has not yet asked the DA's office 
(the state) whether it intends to seek the death penalty in Ward's case. Once 
that is done, the state will ask the court to allow it to seek the death 
penalty.

Both men remain jailed without bail in Limestone County, which is allowed under 
Alabama law in capital cases.

(source: enewscourier.com)








OHIO:

Lawyers say woman's confession to killing 3 young sons should not be allowed at 
trial



More than 3 years after a Central Ohio mom was arrested on charges she murdered 
her 3 young sons, lawyers for Brittany Pilkington were in court arguing that 
her confession to police should be suppressed and not allowed in her 
death-penalty case.

Pilkington, who was arrested in August, 2015, is accused of killing her 
4-year-old and 2 infant sons over a 13-month period from 2014 through August, 
2015. Court documents revealed the Bellefontaine woman confessed to police that 
she killed the boys because she felt her husband paid more attention to them.

Pilkington's mom said her daughter, who was 24 at the time of her arrest, was 
"drilled for 12 hours" by authorities. Her attorneys have argued authorities 
pressured her into confessing and she didn't understand what she was doing when 
she agreed to be interviewed without a lawyer. A defense attorney has also 
argued experts concluded the Bellefontaine woman has brain damage and a low IQ.

Prosecutors say she was advised of her rights, and a judge previously ruled the 
recorded interrogation can be used.

Police say Pilkington smothered all three boys, killing 3-month-old Niall in 
2014, 4-year-old Gavin in April, 2015, and 3-month-old Noah in August, 2015. 
Authorities say after Noah was born, he and his older sister were taken into 
protective custody over concerns about the deaths of the 2 boys, but they did 
not have enough evidence to prove foul play.

The boy's father, Joe Pilkington, said he didn't know his wife was being 
investigated for his sons' deaths, and he even took his daughter for genetic 
testing after they died to see if there was a medical explanation. During the 
investigation into the 3 boys' deaths, Joe Pilkington was arrested and pleaded 
guilty to a misdemeanor charge of gross sexual imposition for having sex with 
his wife when she was underage, before they were married.

One expert testified that the interrogation was just too much for Pilkington.

“She couldn’t process that and she just went along and subsequently she just 
parroted what her interrogators were telling her," said Jeffery Madden, a 
psychologist. "It's a capitulation, not a confession.”

Madden said Pilkington suffered brain damage from lead poisoning as an infant. 
He also read from a medical report which showed Pilkington banged her head on 
her bedpost nightly when she was a child.

Prosecutors tried to point out that investigators frequently asked her if she 
wanted breaks or food and water during the lengthy interrogation and that 
Pilkington refused.

“She said no, but (investigators) should have known better," Madden testified.

Brittany Pilkington is set to go on trial for her three sons' deaths starting 
March 18.

(source: ABC News)

********************

High Court Rules Against Pair of Convicted Killers



The Supreme Court on Monday ordered the Sixth Circuit to reconsider an Ohio 
man’s vacated death sentence and declined to hear an appeal from another 
convicted murderer, drawing a stinging rebuke from 3 liberal justices.

Danny Hill was convicted in 1986 of torturing, raping and murdering a 
12-year-old boy a year earlier. He was sentenced to death and his punishment 
was affirmed by a state appeals court and the Ohio Supreme Court.

Hill filed a federal habeas petition claiming his death sentence is illegal 
under Atkins v. Virginia, a 2002 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that held the Eighth 
Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment prevents the execution of a 
defendant who is intellectually disabled.

A federal judge denied the petition but the Sixth Circuit reversed and 
overturned Hill’s death sentence, prompting Ohio to appeal to the nation’s 
highest court.

The Sixth Circuit’s decision relied on Moore v. Texas, a 2017 decision in which 
the justices found that adjudications of intellectual disability must be based 
on accepted medical criteria.

In an unsigned opinion Monday, the Supreme Court ruled that the 
Cincinnati-based appeals court must reconsider its decision to vacate Hill’s 
death sentence because it should have relied on precedent that was in effect at 
the time his case was in state courts.

“No reader of the decision of the Court of Appeals can escape the conclusion 
that it is heavily based on Moore, which came years after the decisions of the 
Ohio courts,” the 8-page opinion states.

It concludes, “Because the reasoning of the Court of Appeals leans so heavily 
on Moore, its decision must be vacated. On remand, the court should determine 
whether its conclusions can be sustained based strictly on legal rules that 
were clearly established in the decisions of this Court at the relevant time.”

In another death penalty case, the high court decided Monday not to hear the 
appeal of Donnie Cleveland Lance, a Georgia man convicted of killing his 
ex-wife and her boyfriend in 1997.

The denial of review prompted a scathing dissent from Justice Sonia Sotomayor, 
who was joined by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagan.

Sotomayor said jurors deciding Lance’s punishment did not hear evidence about 
dementia, frontal lobe damage in his brain and a low IQ that places him in the 
“borderline range” for intellectual disability.

“The mental impair­ment evidence reasonably could have affected at least one 
juror’s assessment of whether Lance deserved to die for his crimes, and Lance 
should have been given a chance to make the case for his life,” the dissent 
states. “The Georgia Supreme Court’s conclusion that it would be futile to 
allow him to do so was unreasonable.”

(source: Courthouse News)




KENTUCKY:

Louisville defense attorney under investigation for hiding bullet casings in 
death penalty case



A special prosecutor has been assigned to investigate whether anyone with the 
Louisville Public Defender’s office committed a crime by concealing key 
evidence in a death penalty case.

Because of a conflict with local prosecutors, the Kentucky Attorney General’s 
office has tasked Kenton Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Sanders with reviewing 
whether public defender Angela Elleman or anyone in her office broke the law by 
hiding bullet casings linked to the shooting of 15-year-old Gregory Holt for 
more than 6 years.

Elleman, who represents Anthony Hogan, and an investigator dug up the shell 
casings buried in a tree stump outside a bar in Louisville just months after 
the April 11, 2012 murder.

The Jefferson Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office only discovered the existence of 
the casings last February when talking with Hogan about testifying against 
co-defendant James Mallory. At least 1 other attorney in the public defender’s 
office knew about the casings.

The Mallory trial has been delayed as both defense attorneys for Mallory and 
the judge presiding over the case, Susan Schultz Gibson, have questioned 
whether Elleman committed a crime, specifically tampering with physical 
evidence, a felony.

In a motion filed in November, Lexington attorney Gregory Coulson, who 
represents Mallory, asked Judge Gibson to investigate the issue by reviewing 
all of Elleman’s communications with her client and inspect the defense’s case 
file to “determine that the services of (the defense team) have been used in 
furtherance of a crime or fraud upon the court.”

In a Dec. 21 order, Gibson denied this request, writing that it is not her role 
in the case “as a neutral and detached entity” to conduct a criminal 
investigation.

“That investigation is appropriately carried out by either the Kentucky Bar 
Association or the prosecutor’s office,” Gibson wrote.

The head of the public defender’s office, Dan Goyette, has defended the actions 
in a previous statement to WDRB News:

“After a careful review of the rather complex legal and evidentiary situation 
that arose in this case, it’s clear that the actions of Mr. Hogan’s attorneys 
were directed in the best interests of their client and were consistent with 
their professional obligations."

A call to the public defender’s office on Tuesday was not immediately returned.

In the recent motion, Coulson, who recently took over representing Mallory, 
acknowledged that requesting an investigation by the judge of the public 
defender’s office is unusual, but argued that the “conduct is clearly 
felonious.”

The public defender's office represents defendants who cannot afford an 
attorney.

After Elleman and an investigator dug up the shell casings, they were put in a 
safe at the public defender’s office.

Hogan claims he saw Mallory bury the shell casings after Holt was shot to death 
in his mother’s apartment near Dixie Highway and East Rockford Lane.

Coulson said that Elleman posted a picture on social media in 2013 showing her 
in the tree stump with the evidence.

Holt was a student at Farnsley Middle School. Prosecutors have said Holt’s 
mother, Kendra Wilson, participated in a robbery and attempted execution of 
Mallory hours earlier, and that Mallory shot the teen while trying to retaliate 
against Wilson.

(source: WDRB news)








TENNESSEE:

Defense attorneys: Hamilton County DA's office should be disqualified from 
prosecuting gang racketeering case



Defense attorneys for a man facing the death penalty in the state's massive 
gang racketeering case say the Hamilton County District Attorney's Office needs 
to be disqualified from the prosecution.

Citing an "appearance of impropriety," attorneys Steven Moore and Fisher Wise 
argued Monday that District Attorney General Neal Pinkston's office needs to be 
taken off the 55-person case because a former defense attorney who previously 
represented two of the defendants became a prosecutor for Pinkston last fall.

Per ethics rules, they say, defendants Cortez Sims and Montez Murphy were not 
given notice that Assistant District Attorney Lee Ortwein left his defense 
practice in November to work for Pinkston, who brought a Racketeering 
Influenced and Corrupt Organizations case against 55 alleged members of the 
Athens Park Bloods street gang last spring.

Because Sims and his family members are accused of planning the 2016 murder of 
state's witness Bianca Horton, and because Murphy is charged in the overall 
case, Moore and Wise argued that Criminal Court Judge Tom Greenholtz should 
order Pinkston's office off the case to avoid any appearance of impropriety or 
unfairness.

Prosecutors have already signaled they will seek the death penalty against 
Moore and Wise's client, Courtney High, along with defendants Charles Shelton 
and Andre Grier, if they're convicting of kidnapping and killing Horton to 
prevent her from testifying against Sims at a different murder trial in 2017. 
Though Horton was not present, a jury still convicted Sims of first-degree 
murder, and he is serving a life sentence amid an appeal of the conviction.

"We don't want our justice system to be tainted by the appearance that 
attorneys are getting information they shouldn't get from other attorneys 
who've previously been involved in other cases," Wise said.

To be clear, Wise and Fisher said, they were not directly accusing Ortwein of 
sharing any confidential information — just the concern that a "reasonable 
person" could interpret it that way with all of the media attention and chatter 
about the case. They said ethics rules and some case law back up their concern 
and that prosecutors have the burden of proving them wrong.

To that end, Pinkston said he submitted 50-plus affidavits from members of his 
office, including Ortwein, explaining how no confidential information was 
shared. Greenholtz, who reviewed the affidavits, said one of them asserted that 
Ortwein never discussed the Sims prosecution with anybody other than his wife, 
another Assistant District Attorney in the office who works on more minor 
crimes in General Sessions Court.

Pinkston said Monday that Ortwein hasn't ever been involved in the racketeering 
prosecution, hasn't represented Sims since the summer of 2017, and doesn't have 
access, like most of his office, to the state's evidence, which is stored 
electronically.

"Does Mr. Ortwein have a conflict? Without question," Pinkston said. "Has he 
participated in any of this prosecution? No. The majority of this investigation 
occurred long before Mr. Ortwein was ever in the DA's office. It occurred 
almost a year leading up to that."

Judge Greenholtz said he will consider the issue further and release an order 
at a later date. The judge is also expected to rule soon on another issue in 
the case: Whether the state has to prove that each defendant benefited 
financially from any prior crimes prosecutors are using to tie them to the 
gang.

Some defense attorneys say the state's racketeering law states that 
"[financial] gain" is essential and are hoping to get the case dismissed with 
that argument. Prosecutors have countered that any crime committed in service 
of the gang contributes to the gang's overall influence and possible wealth.

(source: Chattanooga Times Free Press)








UTAH:

More calls for death penalty in Provo police officer's killing



A state lawmaker says his death penalty bill is a perfect fit for the man 
accused of killing a Provo officer.

State Representative Paul Ray, R-Clinton, says that’s why he wrote and fought 
to pass HB433 in 2017.

Provo Master Officer Joseph Shinners was shot and killed late Saturday night in 
Orem. The alleged killer is Matt Hoover, 40.

Ray says Hoover fits the exact profile of the bill he crafted.

“Clear-cut death penalty case,” Ray said. “He’s a monster. You don’t want him 
back on the streets. He’s going to be dangerous in prison. He’s going to go 
after correctional officers or inmates.”

Nannette Wride agrees. Her husband, Sgt. Cory Wride, was shot and killed 5 
years ago this month after stopping to help someone he thought was in need.

“[Shinners] died the same way as Cory, being shot and killed,” said Wride. And 
that’s why she believes Hoover should be put to death.

"I think that anyone who kills a police officer, there should be no question 
they should get the death penalty,” Wride said.

Defense attorney Kent Morgan, a former prosecutor for the Salt Lake County 
District Attorney’s Office who handled capital punishment cases for 10 years, 
agreed that Shinners' murder case does fit the criteria for the death penalty.

“Killing a police officer, in this case intentionally, for the purpose of 
escaping being held in custody does fit the definition of aggravated murder,” 
said Morgan. “But we also live in a country where the death penalty is not 
automatic and never will be. We always have to weigh the aggravating and 
mitigating circumstances.”

(source: KUTV news)








CALIFORNIA:

Trial starts in sledgehammer killings of California family



The 2010 disappearance of a family from their Southern California home puzzled 
investigators for years, with no signs of forced entry and the couple's credit 
cards untouched.

After their remains were found three years later in the desert more than 100 
miles (160 kilometers) away, authorities charged a man with the killings, 
alleging he used a sledgehammer to beat to death his business partner, the 
partner's wife and two young sons before burying them in the remote area.

Now, Charles "Chase" Merritt is on trial in the deaths of Joseph McStay; 
McStay's wife, Summer; and their 3- and 4-year-old boys. Opening statements 
began Monday in San Bernardino County, where the family's remains were found.

Merritt, 61, has pleaded not guilty and could face the death penalty if 
convicted.

Authorities have said Merritt's cellphone was traced to the remote gravesites 
and to a call days later seeking to close out McStay's online bookkeeping 
account.

They also say Merritt's DNA was discovered on the steering wheel and gearshift 
of McStay's SUV, which was impounded near the Mexican border a few days after 
the family vanished.

Defense attorney James McGee said McStay could have transferred that DNA to the 
vehicle after he met with Merritt shortly before the family vanished. McGee 
also said none of Merritt's DNA was found at the gravesites but DNA belonging 
to other unidentified individuals turned up there.

"From the evidence the government is going to present, our argument is going to 
be: You had the wrong guy," McGee said.

Britt Imes, supervising deputy district attorney for San Bernardino County, 
said he could not comment on ongoing cases.

The McStay family disappeared from their home in Fallbrook, which is about 50 
miles (80 km) north of San Diego, in 2010. Their remains were found in 2013 
along with a 3-pound (1.4-kilogram) sledgehammer and a child's pants and 
diaper. Authorities have said all four victims were believed to have been 
killed by blunt-force trauma to the head.

Investigators have said they spoke with Merritt shortly after the family went 
missing and noticed he referred to them in the past tense. They also have said 
a customer service representative told them he received a call about McStay's 
QuickBooks account, which he used to pay vendors connected to his water 
features business, after he vanished.

The call, according to authorities, was placed from Merritt's cellphone.

(source: Associated Press)

********************

Brown wouldn’t be the first to clear death row



Your editorial, “Why Gov. Brown should abolish the death penalty” 
(Mercurynews.com, Jan. 2), lays out a compelling case for commutation of all of 
California’s death sentences.

There is precedent for this action.

In January 2003, as he was leaving office in Illinois, Gov. George Ryan 
commuted the sentences of all 167 inmates on death row for all the very reasons 
that you cite in your editorial.

Terry McCaffrey

Former area coordinator

Amnesty International

Palo Alto

*************************

Trust our voters, juries regarding death penalty



Re: “Editorial: Why Gov. Brown should abolish the death penalty” 
(Mercurynews.com, Jan. 2):

Hopefully, Gov. Jerry Brown will not follow the exhortation in your Jan. 2 
editorial that he “abolish the death penalty altogether” by commuting the 
sentences of the 740 convicted murderers on death row to life without the 
possibility of parole.

Such an executive order would severely undermine both our trusted jury system 
and our democratic form of government. As recently as 2012, Californians voted 
to uphold the death penalty, rejecting the argument that it wasted money.

Since it became a state in 1850, California has never wrongfully executed 
anyone.

Ending the death penalty by an executive order would also undermine public 
safety because many criminals, themselves, clearly believe in the deterrent 
effect of the death penalty every time they “execute” the violators of their 
“rules.” They do not give rule breakers “three hots and a cot” for life as you 
now propose.

Trust our juries and our people.

John Haggerty

Santa Clara

(source for both: Letter to the Editor, Mercury News)








WASHINGTON:

Abolish death penalty once and for all



Although the Washington Supreme Court ruled in October that Washington’s use of 
the death penalty was unconstitutional, the court’s action did not completely 
eliminate capital punishment in the state.

The Legislature still needs to vote this year to repeal.

Washington’s death penalty was racially based, arbitrary and lacks fundamental 
fairness, the justices ruled and opponents have been saying for years. Research 
quoted in the Supreme Court decision found that, in this state, “black 
defendants were four and a half times more likely to be sentenced to death than 
similarly situated white defendants.”

The Supreme Court left open the possibility that the Legislature could fix the 
death penalty. No current or future Legislature should be permitted to do so.

Attorney General Bob Ferguson is working with 2 lawmakers, Sen. Reuven Carlyle, 
D-Seattle, and Rep. Tina Orwall, D-Des Moines, to close the door on the death 
penalty once and for all. Lawmakers have tried and failed for years to pass 
similar legislation.

The death penalty is not a deterrent to crime and is unnecessary for public 
safety. It is not worth the cost to taxpayers or the emotional energy required 
from victims’ families.

Since Washington reinstated the death penalty in 1981, 33 people were sentenced 
to die, although some had their sentences changed on appeal, and five have been 
executed. Gov. Jay Inslee declared a moratorium on executions in 2014. The 
Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling converted the sentences for the state’s 
remaining 8 death-row inmates to life in prison without release.

In the past 15 years, seven states have ended their death penalties and 
Washington, Colorado and Oregon adopted moratoriums. Only a few states are 
still executing prisoners, including Texas, Florida, Georgia and Oklahoma, but 
nationally death sentences have decreased dramatically.

In Washington, one of the best arguments for eliminating the death penalty is 
the disproportionate way it has been used, both geographically and racially.

“The death penalty is unequally applied — sometimes by where the crime took 
place, or the county of residence, or the available budgetary resources at any 
given point in time, or the race of the defendant,” Chief Justice Mary 
Fairhurst wrote in the lead opinion.

Prosecutors seek the death penalty only in the most populous counties, because 
those are the municipalities that can afford the cost of trial and 
death-penalty appeals. Seeking the death penalty adds at least $1 million to 
the cost of prosecution — money that could be better used toward other law and 
justice work.

This is the year to eliminate the death penalty in Washington state.

(source: Editorial, The Seattle Times)