Gary Ridgway

The Green River Killer

In the early August, 2003, Seattle television reported that Gary had been taken away to an undisclosed location from high security King County jail. Other news also reported that his lawyers were closing a plea bargain that would spare him the death penalty in return to his confession to numerous Green River murders.

On the day of 5^th November, 2003, Gary entered into the guilty plea of 48 charges for first degree murders. In his plea bargain, court agreed with him in June that it would spare Gary, if he will co-operate to find other victim's bodies and details. In his statement, Gary told that he had killed all his victims in King County, Washington and he had transported his other two victims and dumped their remains in Portland to confuse the police.

On his sentence, public opinions always remained divided on whether a confessed killer of 48 murders should be spared from execution in a state that has the death penalty and imposes it on the people who had far fewer victims. Jeffery Baird, a deputy prosecutor noted in the court that the deal contained the name of 41 victims who would not be the subject of state vs. Gary if it were not for the plea agreement.

On the day of 18^th December, 2003, King County Superior judge, Richard Jones sentenced Gary to 48 concurrent life sentences with no possibilities of parole ever in his life and also sentenced him 10 years for tempering the evidence of each of the 48 victims, adding 480 years in his lifetime penalty.