Murderer Had Other Options

Cookie Birnel may have had a drug problem, but she didn’t deserve to die.

Sadly, a Spokane County judge’s outrageously light sentencing for Birnel’s murderer this week suggests she did.

Judge Kathleen O’Connor said Cookie Birnel contributed to the violence in her home because she was a drug addict. That may be true. But it doesn’t justify the 31 stab wounds in Cookie’s body inflicted by her husband, Rick Birnel.

Birnel had other options - he could have gone to the police, he could have sought help through substance abuse centers, he could have seen a counselor himself.

Instead, he resorted to violence and claimed he had no choice.

Birnel insisted during his one-week trial that he was the victim - subjected to abuse as his wife spiraled into drug addiction and became increasingly violent. He says he was only trying to protect himself when he took the knife from Cookie when she came at him. He said the knife went into Cookie’s chest when he tripped over her - accidently.

That might explain one stab wound, but 31? A medical examiner testified that 17 of the wounds in Birnel’s body could have killed her, including a six-inch-deep wound in her back. Rick Birnell needed six stitches to close a cut in his hand. That’s it.

A jury didn’t buy Rick Birnel’s sob story of self defense. Why was O’Connor snowed?

There’s no telling, but O’Connor’s ruling sends a strong and frightening message to would-be batterers and murderers: There’s leniency for criminals who can “prove” the victim made them do it. It helps if the victims die; that way they can’t defend themselves or their reputation.

Birnel and his attorney - who called the murder a “schmuck-like accident” - played their parts well. They detailed Cookie’s many flaws, her drug use, her infidelity. It was clear she wasn’t the most sympathetic victim - even her children wanted their dad home for Christmas.

And they got their wish, even after a jury found Birnel guilty of second degree murder. He went home for the holidays and, in the nine months since the murder, has spent only seven days in jail.

On Tuesday, O’Connor gave Birnel five years, citing Cookie’s drug use as a reason to go below the state sentencing guideline minimum of 10 years.

Birnel butchered his wife, and should have been put away for a decade, at least. Instead, he’ll serve two months for each of the first 30 stab wounds. The last one’s a freebie.

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Anne Windishar/For the editorial board