PJALS Statement on the WA Supreme Court ruling to end the death penalty:
As an organization whose mission is to build a just and nonviolent world, PJALS has actively worked to repeal the death penalty for 34 years. Today we celebrate the WA Supreme Court’s ruling which affirmed our analysis that the death penalty is an unjust, unfair, and irritational punishment that does not deter crime. Washington’s death penalty has been arbitrarily applied with racial bias playing a key role in its application.
A thousand thanks to all the thousands of committed activists, attorneys, church leaders, educators, human rights groups, and individuals who helped bring about this victory – all those who stood vigil with us at every execution, who met with legislators, called and wrote letters, organized and attended events, visited those on the row, helped with trials, spoke with media and to friends and neighbors, schools and churches, spent time in jail to say no to the killings.
This is a major achievement for all of us who work to reform our unjust criminal justice system and eliminate the racial disparities that exist at all level of this system.