Oregon Gov. Kate Brown commutes all state death sentences: ‘It is an irreversible punishment’

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D) commuted the sentences of 17 people currently on death row in the state. They will instead serve life in prison with no chance of parole.

Brown, who has used her power of clemency more than any of the state’s previous governors, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting, said that unlike previous commutations she’s granted, these are not based on any “rehabilitative efforts” by the individuals on death row.

“Instead, it reflects the recognition that the death penalty is immoral,” Brown said in a 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.”

She added that the pain and uncertainty for victims as individuals sit on death row for decades without resolution, and said that she hopes this move “will bring us a significant step closer to finality in these cases.”

The most recent execution in Oregon was in 1997. After having voted back and forth on whether or not to keep the death penalty, voters ultimately decided to keep the death penalty in 1984.