Execution chamber at Washington State Penitentiary closes
By Dan Thesman on Wednesday, September 18th, 2024 in Columbia Basin News Columbia Basin Top Stories
WALLA WALLA – The Washington State Department of Corrections will close its execution chamber today (Wednesday) at the Washington State Penitentiary.
Since 1904, 78 inmates were executed in the small room by choosing to either die by hanging or lethal injection. The last person to be executed was in 2010.
Four years later (2014), Gov. Jay Inslee instituted a moratorium on the death penalty. In 2018, the state supreme court found the death penalty was invalid because it was imposed in an arbitrary and racially biased manner. Capital punishment was officially abolished in 2023.
Today’s closing of the execution chamber is mostly ceremonial as DOC will leave the room intact, for now, for historical reasons.
Photo via Washington State Department of Corrections
