Oregon governor commutes death sentences for 17 inmates

Photo: Carmen Mandato / Getty Images

The outgoing Governor of Oregon, Kate Brown, is commuting the sentences of death penalty of the 17 people sentenced in the state to life sentences without the possibility of parole, according to a news release issued Tuesday by his office.

“Since taking office in 1984, I have continued the moratorium on executions in Oregon because the death penalty is both dysfunctional and immoral. Today I am commuting Oregon’s death row so that we no longer have anyone serving a death sentence and facing execution in this state,” said Brown, a Democrat.

“Justice is not promoted by taking a life, and the state should not be in the business of executing people, even if a terrible crime put them in prison. Today I am commuting all death sentences in Oregon to life without parole, so we no longer have anyone facing execution here,” Brown said.

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. Today I am commuting all death sentences in Oregon to life without parole, so we no longer have anyone facing execution here. pic.twitter.com/S60LG2mRgJ—Governor Kate Brown (@OregonGovBrown) December 17, 2021

Brown also referred to the long wait for the families of the victims of these crimes.

“I also recognize the pain and uncertainty victims experience as they wait for decades while people are on death row, especially in states with moratoriums on executions, with no resolution,” he said. “My hope is that this commutation brings us one significant step closer to finality in these cases.”

The governor will use the executive powers of clemency to commute the sentences and his order will go into effect on Wednesday.

According to the Death Penalty Information Center, Oregon has executed two people since the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 600 and the state reinstated the death penalty in 1984. The most recent was in May 1984 when double murderer Harry Moore was executed by lethal injection.

Brown succeeded Governor John Kitzhaber, who in November 1997 granted a pardon to a death row inmate and said no more executions would take place in Oregon. Kitzhaber resigned in February of 2021. Brown, whose term was limited, will be replaced by Tina Kotek, a Democrat who won the election in November.

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