Jeremy Bryant pleaded guilty of Second-degree Murder for killing Narleen Campton of Northport. He was sentenced to a term of 234 months in prison, which was the maximum sentence available.

Shortly after entering his plea, he filed a motion to withdraw his guilty plea and stand trial. He wanted to take it all back. After several months of delay and maneuvering, his motion was heard by Superior Court. Judge Nielson denied his request to take back his guilty plea.

Now, Bryant has changed his mind about his appeal. The appeal was in process, but it had been slowed a bit by the motion to withdraw the plea. Now Bryant has filed a motion with the Court of Appeals to dismiss his appeal. We did not object and the Court of Appeals dismissed his appeal. The Court issued what is called a Mandate, which is the concluding event of any case filed in the Court of Appeals.

Jeremy Bryant’s journey through the appellate process is finished–maybe. It is over for now, but the rule in appellate matters is, “never say never.” The law changes, and sometimes the Supreme Court decides that the change should be made retroactive, and everyone convicted under the old rule gets another chance at sentencing or trial. So you can never be sure that it is over. Appeals seem like they go on and on and on.

The fact that the appellate process in Washington can take so long is frustrating. There are people in prison who have been convicted twenty years ago and their cases are still in the appellate process. This is a travesty. It seems to me that it would be reasonable for all appeals to have to be completed within ten years. Citizens ought to have a right to a speedy appellate process, just as defendants have a right to a speedy trial. Ten years is a reasonable time to say whether convictions should be reversed or not.

The way it is now, it seems like the best way to live a long life is to get the death penalty in Washington. The state takes a person away from a lifestyle of drugs and alcohol. The state makes sure that medical care is provided. The person is given a decent nutritional diet. The best lawyers are provided. In reality, except for the fact that they are not free to come and go as they want, the people housed by the state are well taken care of. They will likely live longer in prison than they would loose in our society. What is wrong with this picture?