Just 27 days before the end of her term as Oregon Governor, Kate Brown announced that she is using her executive clemency powers to commute the sentences of the 17 individuals on Oregon’s death row to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

“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. Since taking office in 2015, I have continued Oregon’s moratorium on executions because the death penalty is both dysfunctional and immoral.”

The Governor uses “dysfunctional and immoral” very loosely according to some. In her interview of her life’s story to New York reporter Mattie Kahn, she was distraught over the number of single-parent women in Oregon. She believes that “access to reproductive health care [abortions] is critical to providing [women] the opportunity to achieve their full potential and live productive lives.” On twitter she posted, “Abortion is health care, and no matter who you are or where you come from, Oregon doesn’t turn away anyone seeking health care.”

The Governor explains, “Unlike previous commutations [1,204] 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. It is an irreversible punishment that does not allow for correction; is wasteful of taxpayer dollars; does not make communities safer; and cannot be and never has been administered fairly and equitably. My action today is consistent with the near abolition of the death penalty that has been achieved through SB 1013.”

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

SB 1013 was carried by Floyd Prozanski (D-Portland) in 2019 as a roundabout to avoid voters that leaves the little-used death penalty in the Oregon Constitution, but sharply narrows the definition of aggravated murder, the only crime punishable by death in Oregon. The new definition applies to acts of terrorism in which two or more people are killed. The remaining crimes that were classified as aggravated murder are now under murder in the first degree that includes murders of multiple people, torture, and killing a child or law enforcement officer. It removed future dangerousness as a factor for the jury to determine when deciding whether to sentence a defendant convicted of aggravated murder to death and requires the state to prove that the defendant should receive the death penalty beyond a reasonable doubt. The new law didn’t apply to the 30 inmates on death row at the time.

The Governor continues, “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.”

Republican Leaders reacted. “Governor Brown has once again taken executive action with zero input from Oregonians and the legislature. Oregon has not executed an individual since 1997 and has only executed two criminals since voters adopted the death penalty in 1984,” said House Republican Leader Breese-Iverson (R-Prineville). “Her decisions do not consider the impact the victims and families will suffer in the months and years to come. Democrats have consistently chosen criminals over victims.”

“Did the people of Oregon vote to end the death penalty? I don’t recall that happening. This is another example of the Governor and the Democrats not abiding by the wishes of Oregonians. Even in the final days of her term, Brown continues to disrespect victims of the most violent crimes,” said Senate Republican Leader Tim Knopp (R-Bend).

Brown has used her executive authority to pardon or commute more sentences than any other governor in the state’s history and more than all of Oregon’s governors from the last 50 years combined. The Governor’s order takes effect December 14, 2022.


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2022-12-14 06:24:49

Last Update: 2022-12-14 13:29:02