Green River Plea May Crimp Death Penalty

Legal experts say the plea bargain with the Green River Killer raises a
thorny question: If the state of Washington is not going to execute
someone who has confessed to murdering 48 people, how can it ever again
put anyone to death?

It is a question of simple fairness: Under state law, the Washington state
Supreme Court is required to review every death sentence handed out, and
must consider whether the sentence "is excessive or disproportionate to
the penalty imposed in similar cases, considering both the crime and the
defendant."

Some lawyers say a death sentence for someone who killed one or two people
could well be considered "disproportionate" when compared to what Gary
Leon Ridgway got.

"People are concerned that if they don't seek the death penalty in the
Ridgway case, it would not be permissible to seek it in any case," said
University of Washington criminal law professor John Junker. "How do you
find anybody who's done worse than he's done?"

That logic may have national implications.

When the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for the death penalty in 1976,
it was with the understanding states would ensure it was being applied
proportionally, said Richard Dieter, executive director of the Washington,
D.C.-based Death Penalty Information Center.

In theory at least, someone on death row for a murder in Texas could
appeal on the grounds it's unfair to execute him while Ridgway was spared.

"This is a glaring example that may even interest the Supreme Court,"
Dieter said Wednesday. "There will be appeals, and there may well be a
review about the whole country's use of the death penalty. If it can't be
applied more uniformly or predictably, maybe we shouldn't have it."

Ridgway, a 54-year-old truck painter, pleaded guilty Wednesday to the
murders of 48 women in a deal that spares him from the death penalty for
those slayings and assures him a sentence of life in prison without
parole.

Washington state has executed four people since the resumption of capital
punishment. Washington is one of 38 states with the death penalty.

Initially, King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng vowed he would not bargain
with Ridgway over the death penalty, precisely for the reason of
proportionality. It would be unfair not to apply it to the Green River
Killer when the state has executed far less prolific killers, he said.

Roger Hunko, president of the Washington Association of Criminal Defense
Lawyers, said another serial killer in Washington state is already testing
the proportionality argument.

3 years ago, Robert Yates confessed in Spokane County to killing 13
people, but he was then tried, convicted and sentenced to death for
killing 2 other people in Pierce County.

Hunko, who represented Yates at trial, said Yates will argue on appeal: If
Yates did not get the death penalty for 13 murders in one county, how can
he get it for two in another?

Mark Roe, Snohomish County's chief criminal deputy prosecutor, said it is
too soon to tell how sweeping an effect the Ridgway plea will have.

"We don't stop trying cases because we're pessimistic about what the
Supreme Court will do with it some day," Roe said.

(source: Associated Press)

US-Serienkiller gibt 48 Frauenmorde zu

Seattle. DPA/BaZ. Ein 54-jähriger Mann im US-Staat Washington hat am Mittwoch Morde an 48 Frauen gestanden. Gary Ridgway, der ab 1982 vor allem Prostituierte und Ausreisserinnen umgebracht und ihre Leichen am Green-River-Fluss nahe der Stadt Seattle versteckt haben soll, gilt als Amerikas schlimmster Serienkiller. Im Gegenzug für sein Schuldbekenntnis bleibt dem mutmasslichen "Green River"-Killer, der vor knapp zwei Jahren gefasst worden war, die Todesstrafe erspart.

Der verheiratete Fahrzeuglackierer war im Dezember 2001 festgenommen und zunächst wegen Mordes an sieben Frauen angeklagt worden. Ridgway bekannte sich damals als nicht schuldig. Der Mann geriet schon in den 80er Jahren unter Verdacht, konnte aber aus Mangel an Beweisen nicht belangt werden.
Mit Hilfe verfeinerter DNA- Tests wurde er nach einer der längsten Massenmörder-Fahndung in der US-Kriminalgeschichte erneut festgenommen. Nachbarn und Arbeitskollegen beschrieben Ridgway als unauffälligen "netten Kerl". Der Hass auf Prostituierte habe ihn zu den Morden getrieben, sagte er vor Gericht

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