Washington County DA Accused of Abusing the Death Penalty to Pressure Defendants

Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh, a Republican, is facing serious accusations that he has been misusing the death penalty to pressure defendants into plea deals or cooperation. In a petition filed with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, defense attorneys say Walsh has turned capital punishment into a coercive tool rather than a rare, last-resort sanction.

According to the filing, Walsh has sought the death penalty in an unusually high number of cases since taking office in 2021. Lawyers for two defendants argue that he has pursued capital charges in 11 out of 18 homicide cases during his tenure — a rate far beyond what is seen elsewhere in the state. They say this pattern isn’t about justice but about leverage, using the threat of execution to force people to plead guilty or turn state’s evidence.

The petition also cites specific cases where Walsh allegedly escalated charges solely to make the death penalty available, including one in which a woman spent nearly four years in jail before her case was dismissed. In another example, attorneys say Walsh attempted to influence how a medical examiner classified an infant’s death so he could justify capital charges before the ruling was even made.

Walsh has dismissed all criticism as politically motivated, calling the petition a “liberal Hail Mary,” but the defense argues the issue is much larger: a Republican prosecutor wielding one of the government’s most extreme powers recklessly, straining county resources, and undermining constitutional protections in the process.

Pennsylvania rarely uses the death penalty, and no one has been executed here in decades. But in Washington County, Walsh’s aggressive approach has created what defense lawyers call a “crisis,” raising alarms about a DA who treats the death penalty not as a safeguard of justice, but as a bargaining chip.