Benton scores big wins before deadline: Murder of a child bill and Chelsea Harrison Act headed for full Senate vote

March 1, 2007

OLYMPIA…Two major pieces of public safety legislation prime-sponsored by Sen. Don Benton, R-Vancouver, are headed for a full Senate vote. 

Benton’s bill to make murder of a child a capital offense came out the Senate Judiciary Committee before the 5 p.m. deadline yesterday. The measure, Senate Bill 5706, was amended to apply to child victims 8 years old and younger and to offenders at least 21 years of age at the time of the murder. 

“In my original bill, the age of the child victim was 14 and younger,” Benton said. “This was the age recommended to me by Clark County Prosecutor Art Curtis. I would still like to see older children covered by the bill, but this is a good step forward.” 

Benton said specifying that the offender be at least 21 won’t make much difference because younger defendants rarely face death sentences for reasons of age. 

Benton’s bill to make sure out-of-state felonies count under the state’s “Three Strikes” law was amended to Substitute Senate Bill 5964. 

Benton originally introduced this provision as the Chelsea Harrison Act during the 2006 session. This year, he reintroduced it as Senate Bill 5502. 

“Chelsea Harrison would still be alive today if my bill had been law back in 1999, Benton said. “Her killer, Roy Wayne Russell, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison under Washington’s ‘Three Strikes You’re Out’ law, but got out on appeal because one of his ‘Three Strikes’ crimes was committed in Arizona. That’s when he murdered Chelsea.” 

Benton says he attributes his success with these two measures to his tenacity, the gravity of the issues, and his ability to work in a bipartisan way to achieve results.  

“It’s not about minority vs. majority when you invest your time and energy into relationships that bring people to the table to talk about making good laws,” Benton said.

Benton has been in the Legislature since he was elected to the House of Representatives in 1994. He was elected to the Senate in 1996 and re-elected in 2000 and 2004. 

“I’ve learned in my 12 years as a legislator to never take on the attitude that others have about being in the minority party,” Benton said. “I just work hard and collaborate on key issues with my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. I get results.” 

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Additional contact Penny Drost at (360) 786-7522
or penny.drost@leg.wa.gov