State v. Gregory

¶ 1 Washington's death penalty laws have been declared unconstitutional not once, not twice, but three times. State v. Baker , 81 Wash.2d 281, 501 P.2d 284 (1972) ; State v. Green , 91 Wash.2d 431, 588 P.2d 1370 (1979) ; State v. Frampton , 95 Wash.2d 469, 627 P.2d 922 (1981).1 And today, we do so again. None of these prior decisions held that the death penalty is per se unconstitutional, nor do we.

*627The death penalty is invalid because it is imposed in an arbitrary and racially biased manner. While this particular case provides an opportunity to specifically address racial disproportionality,…