Appeals court upholds man’s prison term

Morris “Mel” Goldberg can’t blame his attorney for the 262/3-year prison term he got for helping murder his son-in-law, the Washington Court of Appeals said this week.

In a ruling released Thursday, the Spokane branch of the appellate court dismissed Goldberg’s appeal, which had been based on the grounds that Public Defender John Rogers didn’t seek a below-standard prison term when Goldberg was resentenced last October.

The court said Rogers had sought a minimum-standard sentence and apparently succeeded in persuading Spokane County Superior Court Judge Jerome Leveque not to impose the above-standard sentence that Deputy Prosecutor Steve Kinn sought.

Rogers pleaded for mercy, arguing that any prison term would be a life sentence for the 73-year-old Goldberg, who suffers from diabetes. Leveque settled on the maximum standard of 26 2/3 years.

The sentence itself wasn’t grounds for appeal because it was within the standard range, but Goldberg appealed on grounds that Rogers didn’t represent him effectively.

Goldberg was resentenced last October after the state Supreme Court overturned his original life sentence.

The Supreme Court said Leveque erred in directing an originally deadlocked jury to continue debating the question of aggravating factors that resulted in a mandatory life sentence.

The high court reduced Goldberg’s conviction from aggravated murder to regular first-degree murder and sent the case back to Leveque for resentencing.

Goldberg and his wife at the time, JoAnn Peterson, were convicted of the 1991 execution-style slaying of their son-in-law, Peter Zeihen, who was estranged from their daughter.

Goldberg acted as the getaway driver when Peterson killed Zeihen with a shotgun.

Peterson will ask Gov. Gary Locke for clemency in a hearing today in Olympia.