The Seattle Post-Intelligencer praises Washington lawmakers for taking "a major step in righting a nearly 150-year-old wrong" by passing a bill to exonerate Nisqually Chief Leschi.

Leschi was convicted of murdering a soldier during a battle at which scholars say he wasn't present. He was hanged on February 19, 1858, in public despite evidence kept from the courts.

The State Senate voted unanimously last week in favor of the bill, which asks the state's high court to vacate the conviction. "It's now up to the state Supreme Court to take the next step in repairing that injustice," the paper says.

"Chief Leschi is our historical icon. We want him to be portrayed honestly and correctly. Having a man of such importance portrayed as a murderer is not fair to the descendants of Medicine Creek," writes Cynthia Iyall, a descendant of Chief Leschi and member of the Nisqually Tribe, in The Olympian.

Get the Story:
Righting a wrong (The Seattle Post-Intelligencer 3/8)
All 49 senators pass Leschi resolution (The Seattle Post-Intelligencer 3/6)
Legislators right historical wrong (The Olympian 3/5)
Cynthia Iyall: Leschi's descendants deserve to have his name cleared (The Olympian 3/5)

Relevant Links:
Chief Leschi information - http://www.leschi.bia.edu/leschiinfo.htm

Related Stories:
Nisqually chief's execution called 'black mark' (2/19)
Bill to clear Nisqually chief gets hearing in Wash. (2/18)
Leschi descendants work to clear chief's name (09/15)