Yates Seeks More Time To Make Case Defense Assembling Arguments For Sparing Life Of Serial Killer Suspect If He Is Convicted

Defense attorneys for accused serial killer Robert Lee Yates Jr. will ask a judge next week to extend a June 30 deadline for prosecutors to decide whether to seek the death penalty.

Public defender Richard Fasy wants a 30-day extension to assemble a mitigation package presenting defense arguments for sparing Yates’ life if he is convicted.

Mitigation packages can include testimonials from a defendant’s relatives, friends and co-workers. Character and psychological evaluations also can be included, Fasy said.

“We may file subsequent extensions in the coming months because we want to put together a thorough mitigation package for the prosecutor,” Fasy said Thursday.

Yates and his attorneys will submit their request before Spokane County Superior Court Judge Richard Schroeder next Friday.

Yates, 48, is accused of eight counts of aggravated first-degree murder, one count of attempted first-degree murder and a count of attempted first-degree robbery. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Prosecutors say he shot his victims, all of whom were involved with drugs or prostitution, and dumped their bodies in remote locations.

Police also have said Yates could be connected to 10 other unsolved prostitute killings in Spokane and Tacoma. Officials in other agencies in the United States as well as in Germany also are investigating Yates in connection with other unsolved murders.

Yates is being held without bail in the Spokane County Jail. He has waived his right to a speedy trial, and the case is scheduled for trial May 21, 2001.

If an extension for the death penalty decision is granted, the trial date probably will be pushed back.

“It’s not uncommon for extensions to be granted in cases like this,” Fasy said.

Spokane County Prosecuting Attorney Steve Tucker said earlier he anticipated that Yates’ attorneys would ask for an extension and didn’t plan to object.

“We want to have as much time as we can to review it,” Tucker said.

Fasy wouldn’t say what Yates’ mitigation package will include.

Fasy said he is morally opposed to the death penalty and hopes Tucker doesn’t pursue that option.

“It doesn’t make sense for the state to engage in an act that is against the law,” Fasy said. “It’s plotting a death. That’s called premeditated murder.”

Meanwhile, Yates’ defense team is awaiting a response from the prosecutor’s office regarding a motion it filed last week requesting more specific information about the three aggravating factors being claimed in the Yates case.

Under state law, aggravating circumstances are necessary in a murder case before prosecutors can seek the death penalty.

Prosecutors allege these aggravating circumstances: that the killings were part of a common scheme or plan, that robbery occurred and that Yates tried to conceal a crime.

Tucker said his office expects to have more discussions regarding the death penalty with Yates’ defense and sheriff’s investigators next week.