Washington (state) Washington (state) Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Named for George Washington, the first president of the United States, the state was made out of the western part of the Washington Territory, which was ceded by Britain in 1846 in accordance with the Oregon Treaty in the settlement of the Oregon boundary dispute. It was admitted to the Union as the 42nd state in 1889. Olympia is the state capital; the state's largest city is Seattle. Washington is sometimes referred to as Washington State, to distinguish it
Capital punishment in Washington (state) Death Row for males was located at Washington State Penitentiary at Walla Walla, which was also the site of executions. Females were housed at Washington Corrections Center for Women at Purdy near Gig Harbor while awaiting execution. Since the death penalty was reinstated in the late 1970s, inmates have been able to choose if their execution will be carried out by lethal injection or hanging. If the inmate makes no decision, lethal injection is the default method. Washington was the last state with an active gallows (Delaware dismantled theirs in 2003). According to the Revised Code of Washington § 10.95.180,