The state of Washington rarely executes people. And thus it’s possible, for inmates on death row doing twenty or more years preparing for such a fate, that they may instead die of other causes.
Ohio State University Professor Douglas Berman wonders if, to proponents of the death penalty, this outcome is justice:
I could imagine some death penalty fans pleased by this kind of news: another convicted murderer no longer is on the planet and the state no longer has to pay the expenses for keeping this killer alive or for litigating any of his claims that his death sentence is illegal or otherwise flawed. And yet, I could also imaging death penalty fans feeling some disappointment because this news means another murderer escaped the formal punishment of death and in essence served a life without parole sentence.
What do our readers out there think?
