Gov. Kate Brown announced on Dec. 13, 2022, that she was commuting the death sentences of 17 Oregon inmates, reducing them to life without parole.
Here is a brief history of the death penalty in the state of Oregon.
1864 – Death penalty is first adopted by statute.
1914 – Death penalty is voted out.
Over the next two decades, it was restored and then repealed.
1981 – Oregon Supreme Court strikes down the death penalty.
1984 – Voters reinstate the death penalty.
1997 – The most-recent execution carried out in Oregon. There were only two between the 1984 and 1997.
2020 – The Oregon Department of Corrections essentially shuts down death row, moving its inmates mainly into the general prison population.
2022 – Gov. Kate Brown commutes the sentences of 17 death row inmates.
RELATED: Central Oregon officials react to Brown’s commutation for death row inmates
