*** Welcome to piglix ***

Capital punishment in Washington


Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of Washington.

A total of 110 executions have been carried out in the state and its predecessor territories since 1849. All but the most recent three were by hanging. As of 2017, the Washington State Department of Corrections lists eight men on death row.

When the prosecution seeks the death penalty, the sentence is decided by the jury and must be unanimous.

In case of a hung jury during the penalty phase of the trial, a life sentence is issued, even if a single juror opposed death (there is no retrial).

The governor has the power clemency with respect to death sentences.

The following are considered circumstances for aggravated first degree murder:

Death Row for males is located at Washington State Penitentiary at Walla Walla, which is also the site of executions. Females are housed at Washington Corrections Center for Women at Purdy near Gig Harbor while awaiting execution.

Since the death penalty was reinstated in the late 1970s, inmates have been able to choose if their execution will be carried out by lethal injection or hanging. If the inmate makes no decision, lethal injection is the default method. Washington is the only state with an active gallows (Delaware dismantled theirs in 2003).

According to the Revised Code of Washington § 10.95.180, executions in Washington:

Mitchell Rupe attempted to have his execution overturned due to the fact that his obesity could decapitate him, thus leading to his execution being cruel and unusual. The court held that the science behind the method of hanging was sufficient to mitigate the likelihood of decapitation. Charles Rodman Campbell declined to choose his method of execution, thus the method defaulted to hanging (which was the default method at the time). His execution was carried out without incident.


...
Wikipedia

...