Washington State abolishes capital punishment and sterilization as punishments

The Democratic Governor of Washington, Jay Inslee, signed the law which abolishes the death penalty in the countryas well as sterilization as a punishment, after both chambers approved the measure earlier this month.

According to Europa Press, during the signing, Governor Inslee recalled that since 2014, the state has imposed a moratorium on the death penalty, a punishment he has condemned and which is in effect “unequal and racially insensitive”and that already in 2018 the Supreme Court of the country ruled that it was unconstitutional.

The measure was well received by the defenders of civil liberties and those who are advocating for the abolition of this penalty, because, like the democratic governor, they claim that “arbitrary” and “discriminatory”as racial prejudice plays a decisive role in how it is applied, CNN gathers.

However, for Republicans like Washington state congressman Jim Walshhan, the measure is nothing more than “another sad example of criminals’ interests coming before the interests of victims and their families”he said on Facebook.

Since the US Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, the state of Washington has used the death penalty five times. Meanwhile, as of April 1, 2022, there were still 2,414 people awaiting the death penalty. in the United States, according to official data. This penalty is legal in 27 states.