There will be no inmates put to death in the state of Oregon for the foreseeable future.
While the death penalty remains legal in the Beaver State – one of 27 states in the union where death remains a viable sentence for convicted criminals – the 17 inmates currently residing on the state’s death row had their death sentences commuted Tuesday.
All 17 had their sentences converted to life without the possibility of parole by outgoing Governor Kate Brown.
“Since taking office in 2015, I have continued Oregon's moratorium on executions because the death penalty is both dysfunctional and immoral,” Brown said of her decision to extend permanent stays of execution to the entire Oregon death row population.
“I am commuting Oregon's death row so that we will no longer have anyone serving a sentence of death and facing execution in this state,” she added.
Brown’s tenure as Oregon’s governor ends next month.
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