Some Washington prisoners serving life sentences for burglary eligible for new sentencing hearings

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signs 33 new bills into law

By the time Washington lawmakers concluded their 105-day session Sunday night, they had approved nearly a dozen measures on police reform, passed two key climate measures — cap-and-trade and a low-carbon fuel standard — that had long been priorities of Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee, and passed a new capital gains tax on high-profit stocks and bonds that had languished in previous legislative sessions.

OLYMPIA, Wash. - Dozens of third-strike prisoners serving life without parole after second-degree burglary convictions are entitled to new sentencing hearings under a bill Gov. Jay Inslee signed Monday.

Second-degree burglary used to be considered one of Washington’s most serious offenses, a conviction of which led to one of three "strikes" that lead to persistent offenders being sentenced to life without parole.

The crime typically doesn’t involve a weapon or injury, and lawmakers in 2019 removed it as a most serious offense as they reconsidered the tough-on-crime policies of the past. At the time, however, lawmakers declined to allow the 64 people already serving life without parole after a second-degree robbery conviction to be resentenced.

The racial reckoning over the police killings of George Floyd and other Black people helped spur this session’s legislation, sponsored by Sen. Jeannie Darneille, a Tacoma Democrat who has been pushing similar legislation for at least 15 years.

Department of Corrections data analyzed by The Seattle Times show that offenders sentenced under the three-strike law are disproportionately Black. In signing the bill Monday, Inslee noted that it would helped undo such racial disparities.

With support from majority Democrats, the measure passed the Senate 28-21 and the House 52-46.