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State’s death penalty repeal bill not expected to advance

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, February 14, 2017

State’s death penalty repeal bill not expected to advance
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State’s death penalty repeal bill not expected to advance
In this Jan. 16 photo, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee speaks during a news conference at the Capitol in Olympia to announce that he and Attorney General Bob Ferguson (third from left) have proposed legislation to abolish the death penalty in Washington state. Despite the backing from Inslee and Ferguson, it appears the measure still won’t see a vote in either chamber of the Legislature, leaving it to suffer the same fate as repeal bills introduced in previous years. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Associated Press

OLYMPIA — An effort to abolish the death penalty in Washington state got a new push this year, with strong backing from Gov. Jay Inslee and Attorney General Bob Ferguson, but the measure still won’t see a vote in either chamber.

A House bill will have a public hearing Wednesday, but it’s not scheduled for a committee vote before a key deadline on Friday. A Senate version of the bill never was scheduled for a hearing, so it appears the measure has suffered the same fate as repeal bills introduced in previous years.

The death penalty has been overturned or abolished in 19 states and the District of Columbia. The latest was Delaware, whose Supreme Court last year declared the state’s death penalty law unconstitutional.

Inslee imposed a moratorium on capital punishment in 2014.

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