Gary Ridgway, the Green River Killer, was returned to the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla last Saturday. The state Department of Corrections (DOC) had transferred Ridgway to Colorado in May, without informing his victims’ families.
As Shift reported, taxpayers forked over $20,000 in order to fly Ridgway to Colorado and ensure his comfort. The person ultimately responsible for the DOC, Governor Jay Inslee, claimed he did not know of the Ridgway’s transfer in advance. Of course, that means Inslee is either not telling the truth or he is so disrespected by state officials that they do not bother to notify him of major decisions.
Ridgway’s transfer sparked outrage from victims’ families and law enforcement officials. After law enforcement raised concerns about Ridgway’s availability for questioning in ongoing murder investigations, the decision was made to transfer him back to the state.
As Shift previously stated, Inslee set a terrible precedent for the manner in which our state treats victims when he announced in February 2014, without notice, debate or public discussion, that he would refuse to carry out the state’s death penalty laws. Inslee said that if any death penalty case arrives on his desk, he would decline to act on it.
The Ridgway transfer debacle, for the sake of his comfort and at the taxpayers’ expense, is the direct result of Inslee’s disrespect for victims.
