Ridgway pleads guilty to 48 Green River killings | Seattle P-I

[Ediacara]

Ridgway pleads guilty to 48 Green River killings
'I killed so many women I have a hard time keeping them straight'



By VANESSA HO, TRACY JOHNSON AND HECTOR CASTRO
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTERS

In the end, the case to spare the life of Gary Leon Ridgway, the Green River Killer who haunted the Northwest for 21 years, came down to two forces.

King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng, who once vowed never to bargain with the death penalty, wanted the truth. And Ridgway, an Auburn truck painter who pleaded guilty to committing more murders than any serial killer in the country ever has, wanted to live.

"The mercy provided by today's resolution is directed not at Ridgway, but toward the families who have suffered so much, and to the larger community," Maleng said yesterday.

"The justice we could achieve was to uncover the truth."

More at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer

[Ediacara]

1. Since this hasn't gotten any replies....

I for one am glad that this long sad chapter in Seattle's history is finally over. I remember growing up and hearing about this madman, and being perplexed that the police were so impotent in capturing him.

I for a while thought it would be one of the great unsolved mysteries of our time.... that is until one day two years ago when my cousin called me and told me this news.

Anyway, I am glad that Maeling made this deal. I'd rather have all the facts known, with him getting life; instead of some families still having questions about murdered loved ones, just so he can get executed.

Not that I am in favor of the death penelty, just I think that the King County Prosecuters did the right thing here. It's best to be after the truth, rather than out for bloodlust.