Docket No. 73155-1 (from Pierce Case No. 00-1-03253-8)  Facts:  After committing fifteen murders in four counties over the course of twenty years, petitioner Robert Yates was convicted of ten counts of first degree murder and one count of attempted first degree murder in the Superior Court for Spokane County and sentenced to 408 years in prison.  Yates was also subsequently convicted of two counts of first degree murder in the Superior Court for Pierce County and sentenced to death.   Yates appealed his convictions and sentence to the Supreme Court of Washington, asserting that the Pierce County prosecuting attorney was equitably estopped from seeking the death penalty by his promise during plea negotiations between Yates and the Spokane County prosecuting attorney that he would not seek the death penalty.  Yates also asserted that the trial court erred in excluding several prospective jurors who expressed opposition to the death penalty, that the prosecutor committed misconduct by making several prejudicial remarks during his trial, and that the jury’s decision to sentence him to death was supported by insufficient evidence and imposed a penalty disproportionate to that imposed in similar cases. Continue reading →