Yates appeals death sentence, cites Ridgway plea agreement

Monday, November 20, 2006 · Last updated 11:38 a.m. PT

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SPOKANE, Wash. -- Convicted serial killer Robert Yates Jr. points to a more notorious serial killer in arguing that his Pierce County death sentence should be overturned.

Lawyers for Yates, sentenced to death in Pierce County for killing two women, contend capital punishment is unfair. They point to Green River serial killer Gary Ridgway, who got life in prison despite confessing to killing at least 48 women.

The Washington Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments in the appeal Nov. 30.

Yates was sentenced to 408 years in prison in 2000 after confessing to 13 killings in a plea deal with Spokane County prosecutors that included information on the Pierce County deaths.

Pierce County moved separately to charge Yates. He was convicted of killing two women in that county and sentenced to death in 2002.

In seeking to overturn his Pierce County sentence, Yates' lawyers allege he was misled by Spokane County Prosecutor Steve Tucker into believing that the two Tacoma-area slayings were part of his Spokane plea agreement.

It wasn't, Pierce County argued.

A key part of his appeal is that Yates, 54, didn't get the death penalty in Spokane, despite a larger number of victims.

"Mr. Yates' (death) sentence is arbitrary, wanton ... freakish and random in light of his Spokane County sentence," his lawyers argued in court documents.

The court in April narrowly upheld the death sentence of a man who fatally stabbed his wife and two children. That case also pointed to the disparity with Ridgway's sentence.

In that 5-4 case, the court acknowledged the extraordinary circumstances of Ridgway's case, but said no matter how unfair it may seem, his plea deal does not automatically invalidate the state's death penalty for everyone else.

Yates' lawyers also argue that he should serve the Pierce County sentence only after he completes the Spokane sentence. In other words, his execution should wait until after he's served the 408 years.

Yates, an aluminum smelter worker and Air National Guard helicopter pilot, was arrested in Spokane in April 2000 after years of unsolved deaths of local women, many of whom were prostitutes.

Within weeks of his arrest, Yates' public defender was trying for a plea agreement with Tucker. Through the lawyer, Yates started revealing information about his victims and his crimes.

Tucker has repeatedly said he thought he had then-Pierce County Prosecutor John Ladenburg's permission to include the two Pierce County cases in the plea deal.

Ladenburg has said he told Tucker in a conference call that a plea deal was "ill-considered and premature" and to leave the Pierce County cases out of any deal that didn't include the death penalty.

Tucker said he has no recollection of Ladenburg saying that.

Shortly after Tucker sent the proposed plea deal to Ladenburg, Yates was charged with the Pierce County homicides.

"By filing the cases in Pierce County, Mr. Ladenburg took public jurisdiction and control over what was rightfully his," the county's current prosecutor, Gerald Horne, wrote to the high court.

Washington state is one of 38 states with the death penalty, and has executed four people since the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for capital punishment in 1976.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer, http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420AP_WA_Death_Sentence.html

The Spokesman-Review, http://www.spokesmanreview.com

By Curt Woodward, The Associated Press

The state Supreme Court overturned a convicted murderer's death penalty today, saying evidence from his rescinded rape convictions and a prosecutor's misconduct require a new sentence.

The 8-1 ruling came in the consolidated case of Allen Eugene Gregory, who appealed his convictions for rape in 2000 and his aggravated murder conviction from 2001.

The majority, led by Justice Bobbe Bridge, overturned the rape convictions, saying the trial judge should have considered evidence that may have helped Gregory's defense.

The justices then threw out Gregory's death sentence, saying evidence of the rapes influenced his sentencing for murder. The court also said it would have overturned the death sentence anyway, because the prosecutor committed misconduct by improperly suggesting life in prison was too lenient for Gregory.

Gregory's murder conviction was sent back to Pierce County Superior Court for resentencing. He was originally sentenced in May 2001 for the rape, robbery and killing of Geneine Ann Harshfield, a neighbor in Tacoma's Hilltop area.

Gregory had been a suspect in the death of Harshfield, 43, who was stabbed in her home after she returned home from her bartending job in July 1996. But the murder went unsolved for two years, until police drew Gregory's blood for evidence after his arrest in the separate rape case.

Tacoma police matched Gregory's DNA to semen stains from Harshfield's bed and her body.

Justices Richard Sanders and Mary Fairhurst agreed with the Supreme Court's result, but said they differed on the reasoning. Justice Jim Johnson dissented from the ruling, writing that the ruling "comes in total disregard of Washington's victims of crimes rights."

The Seattle Times Wash. Supreme Court overturns murderer's death penalty

Naveed Haq won't face death penalty  

Jewish Federation shooting victims support decision

Thursday, December 21, 2006

By Tracy Johnson, Seattle P-I

Two women who nearly lost their lives when a man burst into a Seattle Jewish charity and started shooting said they were glad the suspect would not face the death penalty.

The son and daughter of the woman who died in the July 28 rampage suggested a death sentence might be deserved, but they vowed not to think about the man or his fate.

King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng said Wednesday that he would not seek execution for Naveed Haq, accused of killing one woman and wounding five others at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle while ranting about Jewish people.

Maleng called the shooting "one of the most serious crimes that has ever occurred in this city" but said Haq's long history of mental illness is a reason for leniency.

The only other possible sentence is life in prison.

The grown children of Pamela Waechter, who was the charity's annual campaign director when she was killed, said Haq's "cruel and callous disregard for the lives of so many, in our view, forfeited his right to preserve his own."

But in their written statement, Nicole and Mark Waechter said they respected Maleng's decision and would not dwell on it -- or on Haq.

"We choose instead to spend our energies trying to mend our lives in a way that honors our mother and all she meant to us," they said. "We need all of our energies to heal our wounds and those of others."

Cheryl Stumbo and Layla Bush, who are still recovering from gunshot wounds, said they didn't believe in the death penalty -- although the crime made each of them rethink their position from the painful perspective of a victim.

"The death penalty most likely promulgates further violence and thoughts of revenge," Stumbo said.

Bush, who has the longest road to recovery and only recently began to walk again with the help of a cane, said she believed a life sentence would be a tougher punishment than execution.

"I think this guy is someone who could feel remorse in prison," she said. "Two wrongs don't make a right."

The Jewish Federation has no formal stance on the death penalty. Officials will focus on the recovery of the victims and follow the court case " to make sure each woman's spirit and energy are in the courtroom every day," said Robin Boehler, chairwoman of the federation.

Haq, who is from the Tri-Cities and has a degree in electrical engineering, faces nine criminal charges: aggravated murder, five counts of attempted murder, kidnapping, burglary and malicious harassment -- a hate crime.

His attorney, C. Wesley Richards, said he would now begin exploring other aspects of the case, including what role Haq's mental illness would play in his defense.

"I am pleased that Mr. Maleng recognized that Mr. Haq has a serious mental illness and, accordingly, that the death penalty is not appropriate," Richards said.

Haq's parents have been supportive of their son, Richards said. In a written statement soon after the shooting, the couple expressed shock about what happened and offered condolences and prayers for the victims and their families.

Acquaintances have said Haq struggles with bipolar disorder, which generally is characterized by drastic mood swings. In court documents, defense attorneys said Haq has "extensive medication and mental health issues" and has sought treatment from more than one place during the past decade.

Before making his decision, Maleng reviewed Haq's treatment records and the opinions of mental health experts hired by Haq's attorneys.

In the past 10 years, Maleng, a Republican entering his eighth term, has considered whether to seek execution for 31 people and has sought it for three, according to a P-I analysis of the cases. It takes a unanimous jury to impose it. He has spared several suspects who were clearly mentally ill -- a factor to be considered under state law.

Deputy Prosecutor Don Raz said he hoped to bring Haq to trial by the end of 2007.

On Wednesday, two of the shooting victims and a crowd of other Jewish Federation employees came to a brief King County Superior Court hearing for Haq, a stocky man who wore glasses, a wrinkled dress shirt and khaki pants and was accompanied by four officers.

"He's a lot smaller than I remember him being," Stumbo said after the hearing. "A gun makes a person look bigger."

P-I reporter Tracy Johnson can be reached at 206-467-5942 or tracyjohnson@seattlepi.com.

Italy calls for worldwide death penalty moratorium
Wednesday Jan 3 08:18 AEDT  

AP - Italy has begun a diplomatic push at the United Nations to put its drive for a worldwide moratorium on the death penalty on the international body's agenda, following a wave of denunciations across Europe over Saddam Hussein's execution.

In New York , Italy 's ambassador to the UN met with the head of mission for Russia , which currently holds the UN Security Council presidency, to explain its determination to have the issue taken up by the UN General Assembly, the Italian Foreign Ministry said.

Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi's office said Italy would seek the support of other countries that oppose capital punishment in its drive.

On Sunday, Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema said his country would work for the end of the death penalty worldwide following denunciations across Europe of Saddam's hanging.

Past lobbying by Italy for UN action against the death penalty has been unsuccessful.

Italy is now one of the rotating members of the UN Security Council.

Saddam's execution by hanging on Saturday was denounced virtually across Italy 's political spectrum, with former premier and conservative opposition leader Silvio Berlusconi calling the killing a political error and centre-left leader Prodi expressing worry that the execution will fuel more violence in Iraq .

Italy and all other European Union countries do not permit capital punishment.

The Foreign Ministry said Italy had asked Germany , which now holds the rotating EU presidency, to hold a discussion on the death penalty during an EU political meeting on January 11-12 in Dresden , Germany/

By Gene Johnson, The Associated Press

SEATTLE – Lawmakers who enacted Washington's death-penalty law 25 years ago had cases like Conner Schierman's in mind: a young mother, a young aunt and two little boys stabbed to death, their house burned to conceal the crimes, all while the family's father served in Iraq.

But whether Schierman might face execution if convicted is far from certain. King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng has not sought capital punishment in the past three years — ever since he famously agreed to a plea deal that spared the life of the Green River serial killer, Gary Ridgway, in exchange for help finding more remains of his victims. Many lawyers wonder if he will ever seek the death penalty again against lesser murderers.

Maleng has sought the death penalty 17 times, or in about one-quarter of death-eligible cases, over the past 25 years.

Through his spokesman, Maleng declined to be interviewed, noting that his decision in the Schierman case is due by the end of the month.

"Maleng's in a difficult position," said Eric Lindell, one of the lawyers who represented Ridgway. "Every time you hear of a case where he doesn't go death, people say, 'Well, he's not going to after Ridgway.' But he's never come out and said that. At some point, you've got to be afraid that he might."

Maleng's decision also comes at an interesting time for the death penalty in Washington. The state Supreme Court upheld the law 5-4 last year, in a case that questioned how prosecutors can execute anyone if they're not going to execute Ridgway. A new state bar association report raises questions about the wisdom of continuing to seek execution, given the exorbitant costs of such trials and the overwhelming likelihood of reversal by appeals courts.

And the elected prosecutor of Pierce County, which has sought the death penalty more than any other Washington county, called the state's experience with capital punishment "a farce" in an interview and suggested that the law is so ineffective it should be abolished.

"It doesn't matter how overwhelming the evidence is. Everyone does their damnedest to give a fair trial ... and the appellate courts reverse it every time," Pierce County Prosecutor Gerry Horne said. "You say, 'What kind of steward am I of the public resources, if I know that's going to happen and I seek the death penalty anyway?'

"Why do we even go through the charade? If they're never going to invoke the death penalty, the Legislature should do away with it."

Schierman has pleaded not guilty to aggravated first-degree murder. Prosecutors say he told police that he woke up covered in blood in the Kirkland home of National Guard Sgt. Leonid Milkin after an alcoholic blackout last July, and that he burned the house to conceal his crimes. Milkin's wife, sister-in-law and sons, ages 3 and 5, had been stabbed to death.

Schierman, 25, has no criminal record, is relatively young and reportedly had battled alcohol problems, which could be considered mitigating factors that might spare him the death penalty. But the facts of the case are heinous. Schierman lawyer Jim Conroy declined to discuss what evidence he had asked Maleng to consider in making his death-penalty decision.

Though not all potential mitigating facts have been publicly revealed, some lawyers who have been watching the case believe Schierman's circumstances are less persuasive than, say, the long history of mental illness that Maleng cited when he declined to seek the death penalty last month against Naveed Haq, who is accused of shooting six people at Seattle's Jewish Federation.

"Mr. Maleng has always been very careful in his evaluation of the facts of the crime and any offered mitigation," said Jeff Ellis, president of the Washington Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. "He does not make political decisions. He makes very careful personal decisions, based on the facts of the case."

Ellis served with other defense attorneys, prosecutors and retired judges on a Washington State Bar Association subcommitte that issued a report last month on the death penalty in Washington state. The report said the question of whether the death penalty is practical is best left to lawmakers and voters, but also noted that the state has spent millions of dollars pursuing death in 79 cases over the last 25 years, with four executions to show for it. Three of the convicts excecuted had waived their appeals and volunteered to be killed.

By TRACY JOHNSON
P-I REPORTER

King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng is seeking the death penalty for a man accused of stabbing two women and two young boys, then setting their Kirkland house on fire.

Maleng's decision was announced today in a Superior Court hearing for Conner Schierman, a 25-year-old hotel maintenance worker who lived across the street from the victims.

Army National Guard Sgt. Leonid Milkin, who was serving in Iraq when his family was killed on July 17, said he believed it was the right choice.

"It's not just a tragedy - there is a person behind this," Milkin said. "Four beautiful people have been murdered."

If Schierman is found guilty of aggravated murder, it would be up to a jury to decide whether he should live or die. A death sentence must be unanimous.

In court documents, Maleng, who has now sought the death penalty in four of 31 aggravated murder cases in the past decade, wrote that there was not sufficient reason for leniency.

Deputy Prosecutor Scott O'Toole said Maleng firmly believes it's a decision for a jury of 12 people to make.

Schierman's attorney, James Conroy, said he would challenge whether Washington's death penalty is constitutional and whether Maleng - or any prosecutor - should be able "to pick and choose who they decide to seek the death penalty for." He said Schierman's family was taken aback by the news.

A trial is set for March 26, but most expect the date to be delayed. Another hearing is set for Thursday.

Superior Court Judge Greg Canova revoked Schierman's bail, which was already set at $10 million. Schierman remains in King County Jail.

Schierman is charged with four counts of aggravated murder and one count of arson for the July 17 deaths of Olga Milkin, 28; her sister, Lyubov Botvina, 24; and the Milkins' two sons, Justin, 5, and Andrew, 3.

A motive remains unclear. Schierman told police he drank too much vodka, blacked out and awakened to find himself covered in blood in the victims' home, according to court documents.

It will be the first time Maleng's office has asked a jury to sentence someone to die since the trial of Kevin Cruz, who killed two men and wounded two others in a 1999 shooting at Seattle's Northlake Shipyard.

Jurors, who heard Cruz had mental health issues, spared his life.

The Schierman case is also the first time Maleng has sought capital punishment since he allowed Green River serial killer Gary Ridgway to trade details about killing 48 women for his life. Ridgway pleaded guilty and is serving life in prison.

The plea deal raised questions about whether anyone could fairly be executed when Ridgway escaped that fate, but the state Supreme Court narrowly upheld Washington's death penalty law last year.

Maleng has sought execution in roughly a quarter of his office's aggravated-murder cases since the current death penalty law was enacted in 1981.

Tracy Johnson can be reached at 206-467-5942 or tracyjohnson@seattlepi.com.