Bill to abolish Washington state's death penalty fails to pass out of committee

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — An effort to abolish the death penalty in Washington state isn't moving forward in the Legislature this year.


House Bill 1739, which received a public hearing this week, was scheduled for a vote in the House Judiciary Committee Thursday, but it was not brought up for a vote on the last day before a key policy bill deadline.

The chairwoman of the committee said she supports the bill, but added that she didn't think this was the right time to move forward with it.

The measure would have replaced capital punishment with life in prison, with no opportunity for parole. It also would have required those convicted to work in prison in order to pay restitution to victims' families.

Last year, Gov. Jay Inslee issued a moratorium on capital punishment for as long as he's in office.