It became the second state in the West Coast of the United States to abolish the death penalty (the first being Alaska, which made the practice illegal as a territory before statehood two years later in 1959) and the 20th state in the nation to outlaw executions. The eight inmates that were on death row at the time of ruling had their sentences converted to life in prison. The State Supreme Court did not rule out the possibility that the state legislature could enact a constitutional death penalty statute in the future.