This letter responds to recent publicity about the Washington Supreme Court’s decision in State v. Andress. In all the hysteria over the decision, one very important fact has been overlooked.
That fact is the decision is legally correct. Until this decision Washington stood by itself in allowing an assault to be used as the source of a second-degree murder conviction. Washington is now just like 49 other states in this country that have rejected this unfair and outdated legal quirk. No other state in the country has such a loophole – not even those that are notoriously “tough on crime.” Our court was right to bring Washington in line with the rest of the United States.
Under the felony murder rule, criminals who commit serious felonies such as rape, robbery, and kidnapping are guilty of murder if someone ends up dead as a result of what they did in committing the underlying felony, whether or not they intended to kill. This decision did not affect that law. Only when the underlying crime is an assault has this been changed. It is fundamentally unfair for the defendant to be convicted of the equivalent of intentional murder when the behavior qualifies as manslaughter.
Any Washington prosecutor who claims to be surprised by this decision has missed an overwhelmingly obvious trend in the law. The smart prosecutors – and there are many around this state including many in Snohomish County – have seen this coming for years and have made appropriate charging decisions that this decision will not affect. Instead of being criticized, the justices who voted for this decision, including Justice Charles Johnson, should be commended for having the courage to correct this obvious flaw in Washington law.
Public Defender’s Office
Everett
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