One of the most admirable things about Gov. Jay Inslee’s decision to suspend all executions during his time in office is that it probably served him no political gain. Support for the death penalty is dropping, but it still stands at 60 percent of the country, according to a recent Gallup poll. Instead, Inslee’s action seemed to come from genuine wrestling with the complicated issues involved. As related in an interview at the time with SW, he was struck by the tremendous emotional and financial costs associated with executions, and the fact that only rich counties could afford to prosecute capital cases. A defendant might thus live or die depending on where he lived. That was inequitable, Inslee argued. He also could not ignore the high rate of court-ordered reversals—60 percent—in Washington’s death-penalty cases. Something was wrong with the system. Critics argued that Inslee’s decision didn’t achieve much; capital prosecutions are going ahead as planned because executions could still happen after Inslee leaves office. But his moratorium was a bold act intended to jump-start a needed conversation. Now the state needs to do its part and actually have that conversation.

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