Oregon Governor Kate Brown commuted the sentences of all of the state’s 17 death row inmates, changing their punishments from execution to life in prison without possibility of parole.
On Tuesday, Ms Brown released a statement explaining the move, saying she has "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."
The state has not executed an inmate since 1997, according to The Washington Post. Ms Brown joins a string of recent governors who have committed to forgoing the death penalty. She extended a moratorium on executions saying they are "dysfunctional and immoral."
In addition to extending the moratorium, Ms Brown also signed a bill into law in 2019 that significantly reduces the circumstances under which a death penalty can be sentenced.
Ms Brown has served two terms as governor and will step down next year when her current term ends. Her successor, Tina Kotek, has already stated her intention to continue the moratorium. Ms Kotek said she opposes executions based on her religious beliefs.
The governor said the current round of commutations were not done on the merit of any of the inmates’ rehabilitation, but were instead the result of her opposition to the practice.
"Instead, it reflects the recognition that the death penalty is immoral," she said in the statement. "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."
One execution in 1996 cost Oregon taypayers approximately $200,000, according to state data.
While Ms Brown’s move was praised by advocates in opposition to the death penalty, some of the family members of the victims of the inmates whose sentences were commuted were angered by the decision.
Sue Shirley, whose parents were killed by one of the inmates whose sentence was commuted, told The Oregonian that she was "horrified and outraged" by the decision.
Ms Brown said she recognised the "pain and uncertainty victims experience" while inmates sat on death row awaiting execution.
"My hope is that this commutation will bring us a significant step close to finality in these cases," she said.
