Te trial for the two young men charged with brutally murdering Rachel Burkheimer isn’t underway yet, but proponents of the death penalty might have felt a sense of defeat Wednesday when Snohomish County Prosecutor Janice Ellis announced she will not seek the ultimate punishment for John Phillip Anderson and John Alan Whitaker.
Even the headlines conjured feelings of defeat for some — "Pair to dodge death penalty," as if Anderson and Whitaker, through their own wits or luck, had slipped through society’s fingers.
However, if convicted, the two will spend the rest of their lives in prison without the possibility of release. Whatever side you fall on in the hotly debated issue of capital punishment, full justice is being sought by our county’s law enforcement officials.
It’s easy for some to label Ellis’ decision as solely financial or the result of politics, but there’s so much more behind such a weighty call. Ellis provided a detailed and well-justified account of her rationale to the public just moments after the decision was announced. After detailing the costs of such a trial, she made the critical point that in the penalty phase the state must prove "beyond a reasonable doubt that there are not sufficient mitigating circumstances to spare the defendant’s life." That’s not an easy thing to do given the events in some people’s lives.
By now, everyone has heard of the controversy surrounding the OK Boys Ranch and that Anderson was an 11-year-old boy living there when the scandal broke that the boys were being beaten and sexually assaulted. Even if a jury decided Anderson deserved death, the penalty phase would no doubt be appealed and played out again, as it has been with other cases here.
Putting aside this strong consideration, Ellis effectively argued that this case presents other difficulties: the motive for murder is unclear, jurors will be asked to decide guilt "based in part upon the testimony of co-defendants who have already pled guilty" and there is no "independent, corroborating evidence, such as DNA, to support the expected testimony." All of these are well-grounded reasons that support the final, difficult decision.
The decision to not seek the death penalty is not a reflection of the value of Rachel Burkheimer’s life, the horror surrounding her death or the depth of pain her family and friends are suffering daily. Some murders and victims receive more attention than others and their cases result in varying penalties, but each death has an irreversible impact on our community and calls for our criminal justice system to respond.
Snohomish County has done that and its citizens can be confident the standard has been set high for a fair and just trial to follow. That is what every prosecutor’s office owes the public — and most of all, the victim.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
