Gov. Inslee Looks to “Review” State’s Criminal Justice System
Is this is tied to his decision recently to suspend all death row executions?
At that time, a few months ago, Gov. Inslee put a moratorium on all executions pending in the state pen in Walla Walla. While stressing this in no way commuted or amended any of the prison terms being served by these criminals, Inslee did say no executions were going to be carried out without a thorough examination of the justice system.
Inslee's earlier release this year contained this statement:
“Equal justice under the law is the state’s primary responsibility. And in death penalty cases, I’m not convinced equal justice is being served, the use of the death penalty in this state is unequally applied, sometimes dependent on the budget of the county where the crime occurred.”
A statement from the Governor's office contained this bit of information:
The task force will conduct a data-driven review of the state’s criminal justice system and develop recommendations for improving public safety while managing growing pressures in state prisons. Following the signing of the executive order, the task force will hold its first meeting where the governor will provide opening remarks.
No other specifics were brought to light by this announcement of the task force, but sources indicate the state's capitol punishment policies and procedures will be evaluated.
Some critics are already saying this is a thinly-veiled beginning of an "evaluation" that will, down the road, lead to reversal of our states' death penalty, although there's NO evidence that is the goal of the task force.
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