Targeting skirt-peepers and murderers…

The House and Senate have overwhelmingly passed a bill that allows people to be convicted of felony murder if victims die from what would otherwise be considered an assault. After a state Supreme Court ruling last year, lawmakers were worried that 300 murderers in Washington could try to have their convictions overturned on the grounds that they only intended an assault, not a killing. The bill, SB 5001, is an attemnpt to prevent such challenges.
Another bill fast out of the gate this year was HB 1001, which bans so-called upskirt photography of women without their consent. Another Supreme Court decision last year concluded that such photography — popular on porno websites — wasn’t illegal if done in a public place like a mall or festival.
“When we passed the voyeurism law in 1998, we were under the impression that we had prohibited this kind of event,” said Rep. Joyce McDonald, R-Puyallup. House lawmakers passed the upskirt-photo ban unanimously.