Post by Anja Nieser on Sept 6, 2006 13:06:24 GMT -5
The death penalty in Washington
Aggravated Murder
State legislators have established 14 aggravating factors that call for
death penalty. Any one of these factors could mean execution for the
defendant:
1. The victim was a law enforcement officer, corrections officer or
firefighter who was performing his or her official duties when murdered
and the victim was known or reasonably should have been known by the
person to be such at the time of the killing.
2. During the murder, the accused was in prison, had escaped or was on
authorized or unauthorized leave in or from a state facility or
correctional program.
3. At the time of the murder, the accused was in custody in a county or
county-city jail as a consequence of having been convicted of a felony.
4. The murder was committed in exchange for money or any other thing of
value.
5. The person solicited someone else to commit the murder and had paid or
had agreed to pay for it.
6. The person committed the murder to obtain or maintain his or her
membership or to advance his or her position in the hierarchy of an
organization, association or identifiable group.
7. The murder was committed during a drive-by shooting.
8 The victim was a judge, juror, witness, prosecuting attorney, defense
attorney, or parole officer; and the murder was related to the victim's
official duties.
9. The murder was committed to conceal the commission of a crime or to
protect or conceal the identity of any person committing a crime.
10. There was more than one victim and the murders were part of a common
scheme or plan.
11. The murder was committed in the course of, in furtherance of or in
immediate flight from a felony robbery, rape, burglary, kidnapping or
arson.
12. The victim was regularly employed or self-employed as a journalist and
the murder was committed to obstruct or hinder the victim's work.
13. The accused committed the murder while under a no-contact order
protecting the victim.
14. The murder was an act of domestic violence.
Mitigating circumstances
The following eight situations merit leniency and preclude the death
penalty in murder cases:
1. The defendant has no significant criminal history.
2. The defendant was under the influence of extreme mental disturbance
when the murder was committed.
3. The victim consented to the murder.
4. The defendant was a lesser accomplice to murder.
5. The defendant acted under duress.
6. At the time of the murder, the defendant didn't have the capacity to
appreciate the wrongfulness of his or her conduct or the defendant's
ability to obey the law was substantially impaired as the result of a
mental disease or defect.
7. The age of the defendant, at the time of the murder, calls for
leniency.
8. There is little likelihood that the defendant will pose a danger to
others in the future. Capital punishment in Washington state
1854: The death penalty becomes part of Washington territorial law.
1913: Capital punishment is abolished in Washington
1919: Capital punishment is reinstated.
1975: The death penalty is abolished again, but voters later enact a
mandatory death penalty for "Aggravated Murder in the First Degree."
1977: The Legislature replaces the mandatory sentence with detailed
procedures for imposing the death penalty. But the Washington Supreme
Court declares the law unconstitutional, because a person who pleads not
guilty and is subject to jury trial might receive the death penalty, while
one who pleads guilty would receive a maximum sentence of life in prison
without parole.
1981: The Legislature votes for a new capital punishment law without the
constitutional defects of the 1977 law. It is the current law.
Did you know?
All executions in Washington are carried out at the Washington State
Penitentiary in Walla Walla.
Execution in Washington is carried out by lethal injection, unless the
condemned chooses hanging.
Since 1904, there have been 77 executions in Washington State.
The last execution occurred Aug. 28, 2001, when James H. Elledge was put
to death after pleading guilty to murdering Eloise Fitzner in a Lynnwood
church in 1998. He was the 2nd person in Washington to be executed by
lethal injection.
Currently on Death Row
Jonathan L. Gentry: Convicted in 1991 of fatally bludgeoning 12-year-old
Cassie Holden near Bremerton.
Cal Coburn Brown: Convicted in 1993 for the stabbing and strangulation
death of Holly Washa in SeaTac. In December, a U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals overturned Brown's death sentence. The state is appealing that
decision.
Darold Ray Stensen: Convicted in 1994 for fatally shooting his wife,
Denise Ann, and his business partner, Frank Clement Hoerner, the previous
year in Clallam County.
Clark Richard Elmore: Convicted in 1995 for the rape and murder of the
14-year-old daughter of his live-in girlfriend in Whatcom County.
Dwayne L. Woods: Convicted in 1997 for the murders of Telisha Shaver and
Jade Moore in Spokane County.
Dayva Cross: Convicted in 2001 for the stabbing deaths of his wife,
Anouchka Baldwin, 37, and stepdaughters Amanda Baldwin, 15, and Salome
Holly, 18, near Snoqualmie.
Eugene Allen Gregory: Convicted in 2001 for the stabbing death of his
neighbor, Geneine Harshfield, in Pierce County.
Robert Lee Yates Jr.: Convicted in 2002 for murdering Melinda Mercer, 24,
in 1997, and Connie LaFontaine Ellis, 35, in 1998, both in Pierce County.
EXECUTIONS BY RACE
The 77 people executed in Washington since 1904:
Caucasian - 65
Black - 7
Asian - 2
Hispanic - 2
Eskimo - 1
(source: King County Journal)
Aggravated Murder
State legislators have established 14 aggravating factors that call for
death penalty. Any one of these factors could mean execution for the
defendant:
1. The victim was a law enforcement officer, corrections officer or
firefighter who was performing his or her official duties when murdered
and the victim was known or reasonably should have been known by the
person to be such at the time of the killing.
2. During the murder, the accused was in prison, had escaped or was on
authorized or unauthorized leave in or from a state facility or
correctional program.
3. At the time of the murder, the accused was in custody in a county or
county-city jail as a consequence of having been convicted of a felony.
4. The murder was committed in exchange for money or any other thing of
value.
5. The person solicited someone else to commit the murder and had paid or
had agreed to pay for it.
6. The person committed the murder to obtain or maintain his or her
membership or to advance his or her position in the hierarchy of an
organization, association or identifiable group.
7. The murder was committed during a drive-by shooting.
8 The victim was a judge, juror, witness, prosecuting attorney, defense
attorney, or parole officer; and the murder was related to the victim's
official duties.
9. The murder was committed to conceal the commission of a crime or to
protect or conceal the identity of any person committing a crime.
10. There was more than one victim and the murders were part of a common
scheme or plan.
11. The murder was committed in the course of, in furtherance of or in
immediate flight from a felony robbery, rape, burglary, kidnapping or
arson.
12. The victim was regularly employed or self-employed as a journalist and
the murder was committed to obstruct or hinder the victim's work.
13. The accused committed the murder while under a no-contact order
protecting the victim.
14. The murder was an act of domestic violence.
Mitigating circumstances
The following eight situations merit leniency and preclude the death
penalty in murder cases:
1. The defendant has no significant criminal history.
2. The defendant was under the influence of extreme mental disturbance
when the murder was committed.
3. The victim consented to the murder.
4. The defendant was a lesser accomplice to murder.
5. The defendant acted under duress.
6. At the time of the murder, the defendant didn't have the capacity to
appreciate the wrongfulness of his or her conduct or the defendant's
ability to obey the law was substantially impaired as the result of a
mental disease or defect.
7. The age of the defendant, at the time of the murder, calls for
leniency.
8. There is little likelihood that the defendant will pose a danger to
others in the future. Capital punishment in Washington state
1854: The death penalty becomes part of Washington territorial law.
1913: Capital punishment is abolished in Washington
1919: Capital punishment is reinstated.
1975: The death penalty is abolished again, but voters later enact a
mandatory death penalty for "Aggravated Murder in the First Degree."
1977: The Legislature replaces the mandatory sentence with detailed
procedures for imposing the death penalty. But the Washington Supreme
Court declares the law unconstitutional, because a person who pleads not
guilty and is subject to jury trial might receive the death penalty, while
one who pleads guilty would receive a maximum sentence of life in prison
without parole.
1981: The Legislature votes for a new capital punishment law without the
constitutional defects of the 1977 law. It is the current law.
Did you know?
All executions in Washington are carried out at the Washington State
Penitentiary in Walla Walla.
Execution in Washington is carried out by lethal injection, unless the
condemned chooses hanging.
Since 1904, there have been 77 executions in Washington State.
The last execution occurred Aug. 28, 2001, when James H. Elledge was put
to death after pleading guilty to murdering Eloise Fitzner in a Lynnwood
church in 1998. He was the 2nd person in Washington to be executed by
lethal injection.
Currently on Death Row
Jonathan L. Gentry: Convicted in 1991 of fatally bludgeoning 12-year-old
Cassie Holden near Bremerton.
Cal Coburn Brown: Convicted in 1993 for the stabbing and strangulation
death of Holly Washa in SeaTac. In December, a U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals overturned Brown's death sentence. The state is appealing that
decision.
Darold Ray Stensen: Convicted in 1994 for fatally shooting his wife,
Denise Ann, and his business partner, Frank Clement Hoerner, the previous
year in Clallam County.
Clark Richard Elmore: Convicted in 1995 for the rape and murder of the
14-year-old daughter of his live-in girlfriend in Whatcom County.
Dwayne L. Woods: Convicted in 1997 for the murders of Telisha Shaver and
Jade Moore in Spokane County.
Dayva Cross: Convicted in 2001 for the stabbing deaths of his wife,
Anouchka Baldwin, 37, and stepdaughters Amanda Baldwin, 15, and Salome
Holly, 18, near Snoqualmie.
Eugene Allen Gregory: Convicted in 2001 for the stabbing death of his
neighbor, Geneine Harshfield, in Pierce County.
Robert Lee Yates Jr.: Convicted in 2002 for murdering Melinda Mercer, 24,
in 1997, and Connie LaFontaine Ellis, 35, in 1998, both in Pierce County.
EXECUTIONS BY RACE
The 77 people executed in Washington since 1904:
Caucasian - 65
Black - 7
Asian - 2
Hispanic - 2
Eskimo - 1
(source: King County Journal)