History of Washington’s Death Penalty discussed at Saint Martin’s University Harvie Social Justice Lecture

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Submitted by Saint Martin’s University

prisoner saint martinsNick Brown, general counsel to Gov. Jay Inslee, will discuss the history of the death penalty in Washington State and the factors leading Inslee to suspend the use of capital punishment at the next installment of the Robert A. Harvie Social Justice Lecture Series on Friday, November 7. “Washington State’s Moratorium on the Death Penalty,” which is free and open to the public, will begin at 4 p.m. at Saint Martin’s University in Harned Hall, Room 110, on the Lacey campus, 5000 Abbey Way SE.

Inslee imposed the moratorium in February, an action that caught many people by surprise, but he arrived at the decision following a careful review and reflection of its application in our state. Since that time, there has been heightened, national attention on the death penalty and its fairness and cost.

Brown is a Washington native, having grown up in Steilacoom. He attended Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, on an Army ROTC scholarship and received a B.A. in political science. He then attended law school at Harvard University.

Following his graduation in 2002, he entered the Army Jag Corps, where he went through Airborne School and served as a prosecutor and criminal defense attorney. He spent a year serving in Baghdad, Iraq, with the 3rd Infantry Division and left the service in 2007.

Before joining the governor’s office in 2013, Brown spent six years in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Seattle, where he prosecuted violent crime, white collar, narcotics, and firearms cases. He spent the last two years as the office’s gang coordinator, working with federal and local task forces to prosecute gang crimes throughout Western Washington.

In his current role, Brown is the principal legal advisor to the governor, advising the governor and his staff on an array of legal matters. His primary responsibilities include: reviewing litigation matters; managing the governor’s judicial appointment process; providing policy guidance; advising the governor on clemency and parole decisions; reviewing legislation and serving as the lead ethics advisor.

The Robert A. Harvie Social Justice Lecture Series, now in its ninth year, was created by Saint Martin’s University Professor of Criminal Justice Robert Hauhart, Ph.D., J.D., chair of the University’s Department of Society and Social Justice, to raise awareness of social justice issues within the community. The series honors the work of Robert A. Harvie, J.D., former professor and chair of the Department of Criminal Justice at Saint Martin’s.

For more information, contact Robert Hauhart at 360-438-4525 or rhauhart@stmartin.edu.

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