OLYMPIA…Gov. Jay Inslee released his decision today to cancel the parole granted to convicted murderer Timothy Pauley by the Indeterminate Sentence Review Board. Senate Republican Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, shared his reaction.
“It’s a relief that the governor came to his senses and canceled the parole order for Mr. Pauley. The governor said his decision was based on thorough deliberation. I don’t know what he had to consider so carefully – denying parole in this case should be one of the easiest decisions he’s ever had to make. And the Democratic policies that allowed a man who murdered three people and left another for dead to be granted parole in the first place are a terrible miscarriage of justice.
“The victims’ families were assured Mr. Pauley and his accomplice would never be released. How can victims trust their state government when someone who is sentenced to life without parole might be back out on the streets for good behavior behind bars? They received that sentence because they have committed a crime so terrible that the public needs permanent protection from them. The system needs to live up to that responsibility to society.
“I’d like to think the governor canceled the order out of duty to protect the public, but I suspect it had a lot to do with public backlash over skyrocketing crime. Whatever his motive, it was the only acceptable decision. Mr. Pauley should never see the outside of his prison walls.
“We have to change the current mindset under the majority, which doesn’t take public safety as seriously as it should. We must put the rights of victims and the safety of the public above the rights of the offenders. People must be able to trust that state government is working to protect them. Right now, they can’t.”