By Jim Haley
Herald Writer
A special sentencing hearing to determine if Richard Matthew Clark dies or lives the rest of his life in prison has been scheduled for Oct. 21 — a date that neither a prosecutor nor a defense attorney wanted.
Clark, 33, was convicted in the 1995 abduction, rape and murder of 7-year-old Roxanne Doll of Everett. A jury convicted him of aggravated murder and then found no reason to spare his life in a separate sentencing hearing.
However, the state Supreme Court reversed the death penalty finding, meaning that prosecutors will have to conduct that part of the trial again with a new jury.
Clark was in Snohomish County Superior Court Tuesday for the setting of a time to start that sentencing phase after the U.S. Supreme Court said it would not hear his appeal on the aggravated murder conviction.
Ron Doersch, deputy prosecutor, asked for a quick start, about the third week in January.
Bill Jaquette, head of the Snohomish County public defender unit, agreed that the third week in January would be fine, as long as it was in the year 2003.
Doersch was unhappy.
"It’s apparent the defense tactic is to set this so far in the future that I’ll be retired or die of old age," Doersch said. "Justice deferred in this case is justice denied."
He said none of the facts will change, so there’s no reason for so much extra time.
But Jaquette said the extra time is needed to develop a case that might convince a jury to not impose the death penalty. He said the defense will hire an expert to do that, and the expert needs about a year.
The defense won’t be content with the same information that was presented in the first trial, Jaquette said. That obviously wasn’t enough to turn a jury to spare Clark’s life, he added.
Another Clark defense lawyer, Damian Klauss, said not seeking new information would be "ineffective assistance (of Clark’s lawyers), given the outcome" of the first trial.
Judge Richard Thorpe compromised, giving the defense about 10 months. He set a Sept. 9 hearing date to review defense progress and set a "last chance" time to make a case for any more continuances.
Clark was to be returned to the state penitentiary at Walla Walla, where he will remain until his presence is needed to help prepare his defense.
When Roxanne Doll disappeared in 1995, it set off a huge search for the child. Her body was found several days after she disappeared, buried under debris on a bushy hillside. She had died of multiple stab wounds to the neck.
Clark’s 1997 death penalty conviction was overturned because jurors were told of a previous Clark conviction of unlawful imprisonment of a 4-year-old girl.
You can call Herald Writer Jim Haley at 425-339-3447 or send e-mail to
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