Washington Supreme Court Declares Juvenile Life Sentences Without the Possibility of Parole is Unconstitutional

In another major decision this month, the Washington Supreme Court in State v. Bassett, has declared that sentencing a juvenile to life in prison without the possibility of parole or early release was cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Washington Constitution.

This comes on the heels of another decision declaring the death penalty unconstitutional in Washington.

The driving force behind all of these decisions is advances in the knowledge of how the brain develops and that the juvenile brain is structured differently. The law is slowly coming around to the idea that a juvenile should not face a sentence that they can never recover from for something done as a child.

Death Penalty in Washington State Found Unconstitutional

A new Washington State Supreme Court decision has held that the death penalty in Washington, as applied, is unconstitutional.

The death penalty has long been a controversial topic and there are valid points on both sides of the debate.

However, in State v. Gregory, the Washington Supreme Court found that the evidence and statistics showed that the death penalty was imposed in an arbitrary and racially biased manner. Whether the death penalty was sought or not depended on factors such as where the crime took place, the county of residence, the budget of the local government, and the race of the person on trial.

Some of the research suggested that black people were four and a half times more likely to be sentenced to death than similarly situated white persons.

Additionally, the other stated factors showed that depending on where you were charged, the odds of getting the death penalty increased drastically.

So, for now, the death penalty is unconstitutional in Washington State!