Two members of the Washington State House of Representatives, both Democrats, have introduced House Bill 1692 to reduce the sentences of people convicted of murdering someone during a drive-by shooting.
Tarra Simmons and David Hackney say their bill will “promote racial equity in the criminal justice system.” In 2010, according to the Washington Associations of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, Blacks made up 3.6% of Washington but committed 19% of homicides.
Simmons and Hackney want to amend RCW 10.95.020, which elevates capital murder to “aggravated” capital murder. This is a sentencing enhancement. Currently, there are thirteen reasons why capital murder can be elevated to aggravated capital murder. Since Blacks commit murder at a wildly disproportionate rate to their share of the population, Blacks are likely overrepresented in most, if not all, categories.
The category that Simmons and Hackney have targeted is number seven. This category says includes perpetrators who committed murder while firing a gun from a motor vehicle, or exited the motor vehicle to fire the weapon and then re-entered the vehicle, and drove away.
Simmons and Hackney want the entire category deleted. The bill then says all persons convicted of a drive-by murder will retroactively have the enhancement expunged and be resentenced.
Further, those convicted of a drive-by murder who were aged 20 or less at the time can have their sentence reduced even more. The bill says that sentencing judges will be allowed to ignore all other minimum sentencing requirements for convicted murderers twenty and under!
In major cities all across America, far-left activist politicians are coddling criminals under the pretense of “racial justice.” This bill would be a significant escalation of this coddling in the state of Washington. This would be the first step in eliminating the aggravated capital murder sentencing enhancement altogether. While those seventeen and under can get special treatment after committing murder, this would be the first step in extending that special treatment for 18, 19, and 20 year old.
