Washington state's Democrat Governor, Jay Inslee announced on Tuesday that he was suspending the death penalty in that state. He said he came to his decision after months of review that included victim's families, law enforcement and prosecutors.

The moratorium on the death penalty means that the governor will issue a reprieve for any death penalty case that comes to his desk. This does not mean that the death penalty is commuted in that case or that the the person sentenced to death is being pardoned.

The reason given for the suspension of the death penalty, according to Inslee, is that he feels that the penalty is unequally applied. He said in a statement released today that “Equal justice under the law is the state’s primary responsibility.” Inslee continued, “And in death penalty cases, I’m not convinced equal justice is being served. The use of the death penalty in this state is unequally applied, sometimes dependent on the budget of the county where the crime occurred.”

Currently, there are nine men on death row at the Walla Walla State Penitentiary. The last execution to take place in Washington was when Cal Coburn Brown was put to death by lethal injection for the murder of a Seattle woman in 1991.

Jonathan Lee Gentry may very well be the next person executed in Washington as the federal government lifted the stay of execution on that man recently, and the state stay is expected to be lifted as soon as this month.

Washington’s Department of Corrections is currently drafting a new execution protocol for its procedures. The new protocol will allow the entire execution sequence to be viewed via closed circuit television from the time of the inmate’s arrival at the chamber to the final moments after death.

The Federal Appeals court determined in 2012 that an execution must be fully open to public witnesses. The change in protocol in Washington is a response to that decision.

The moratorium could be lifted by the state’s next governor. Inslee assumed the governor’s office in 2013 and has another three years left on his term. He won the election with 51% of the vote.