Up in Washington, there isn’t going to be any executions for awhile because the current governor, Governor Jay Inslee, has announced that he’s against the death penalty and he’s going to use his power to issue reprieves to stop executions in that state.

This means that defendants can still face the death penalty in trials, and capital punishment can still be assessed — but if there is an execution set up, then the state governor in Washington is going to block it.  

Why?  From Gov. Jay Inslee (click the link to read the full release):

“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.”

“In death penalty cases, I’m not convinced equal justice is being served,…. The use of the death penalty is unequally applied, sometimes dependent on the budget of the county where the crime is committed.”