Outgoing Oregon Governor Kate Brown Commutes All Death Row Sentences

Kate Brown

Outgoing Oregon Governor Kate Brown (D) commuted all death row sentences on Tuesday.

Kate Brown commuted sentences of 17 people on death row.

Democrat Tina Kotek won the governor’s race in the 2022 election and will take office in January.

NBC reported:

Oregon Governor Kate Brown announced plans Tuesday to commute the sentences of the 17 people on Oregon’s death row to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, likely using her executive clemency powers for the last time as governor.

In a statement, Brown criticized the practice of capital punishment, saying the death penalty “cannot be and never has been administered fairly and equitably.”

“I have long believed that justice is not advanced by taking a life, and the state should not be in the business of executing people—even if a terrible crime placed them in prison,” Brown said.

“Unlike previous commutations I’ve granted to individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary growth and rehabilitation, this commutation is not based on any rehabilitative efforts by the individuals on death row. Instead, it reflects the recognition that the death penalty is immoral.”

Brown said that the commutations were consistent with a moratorium on the death penalty initiated in 2011 by then-Gov. John Kitzhaber, a Democrat.

“I also recognize the pain and uncertainty victims experience as they wait for decades while individuals sit on death row—especially in states with moratoriums on executions—without resolution. My hope is that this commutation will bring us a significant step closer to finality in these cases,” Brown said.

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