Author: Nina Arranza-Riley

Client at the center of Supreme Court’s Blake decision has passed away

October 6, 2023 – Washington Appellate Project grieves the loss of Shannon Bowman, also known as Shannon Blake, who passed away unexpectedly on August 14, 2023. Bowman, represented by Washington Appellate Project attorney Richard Lechich, was at the heart of the famous Supreme Court case, State v. Blake, that struck down Washington’s unconstitutional drug possession law.

Bowman’s obituary describes her as a “child-at-heart who marched to the beat of her own drum.”

The Blake decision was monumental in changing lives for the better, overnight impacting those who were previously charged and convicted under the unlawful drug possession statute. “Shannon’s case has given many people hope and a second chance, and many of my other clients are thankful for that,” Lechich said in an interview. “I’m proud and grateful that I was able to represent her in the Washington Supreme Court.”

We are deeply saddened by Bowman’s passing, and are grateful that Bowman sought to appeal and that her appeal connected her with our organization. This article from The Olympian further highlights the impact of Bowman’s case and how she was able to change the lives of those around her.

Death penalty eliminated from Washington State statute

April 20, 2023 – After five years since the Washington Supreme Court ruled the death penalty as unconstitutional, Governor Inslee signed the bill this Thursday afternoon striking the death penalty language from state law.

“It’s official,” Inslee proclaims on Twitter. “The death penalty is no longer in state law. In 2014 I issued a moratorium. In 2018 the state Supreme Court deemed the death penalty unconstitutional. Now in 2023, passage of SB 5087 strikes it entirely from our statutes.”

Governor Inslee signs Substitute Senate Bill No. 5087, April 20, 2023. Relating to removing language from the Revised Code of Washington that has been identified by the justices of the supreme court or judges of the superior courts as defects and omissions in the laws pursuant to Article IV, section 25 of the Washington state Constitution.
Primary Sponsor: Sen. Pedersen

In 2018, Supreme Court ruled in the famous State v. Gregory case that Washington’s death penalty was unconstitutional. WAP Attorney Lila J. Silverstein and Attorney Neil Fox, both of whom represented Mr. Gregory on appeal, were invited to the signing of SB 5087.

WAP “Three Strikes” client resentenced to 48 months

Washington Appellate Project client Raymond Brown was recently resentenced to 48 months after originally being condemned to die in prison under the Persistent Offender Accountability Act, otherwise known as the “Three Strikes and You’re Out” law.  Prosecutors made a plea offer after Mr. Brown’s attorney, Lila Silverstein, filed a brief arguing the three strikes law is imposed in an unconstitutionally racially disproportionate manner and that a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole is also unconstitutionally disproportionate to the crimes.

Although Black people make up only about 4% of Washington’s population, they make up about 37% of three-strikes defendants. And while people convicted of multiple counts of aggravated murder are sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, the three strikes law imposes the same sentence for people who committed multiple counts of second-degree assault, a crime that has a seriousness level of only four out of a possible sixteen.

Mr. Brown is a Black man who was sentenced to die in prison for a third strike of second-degree assault. His prior two “strike” crimes resulted in no physical harm to human beings, and he was a strong member of the community for many years between his second and third strikes. His original sentence was the result of an unfair system that disproportionately punishes Black men for lower-level offenses. Congratulations to Mr. Brown on his new lease on life.

The brief in Mr. Brown’s case may be found here: https://www.courts.wa.gov/content/Briefs/A03/384934%20Appellant.pdf. The settlement documents may be found here: https://washapp.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/384934_Motion_20220830093839D3823826_5898.pdf.