"The Shotgun Approach": KXLY4 on Robert Yates's Death-Penalty Appeal, 2007

Name: "The Shotgun Approach": KXLY4 on Robert Yates's Death-Penalty Appeal, 2007
Uploaded: 2007-09-28T00:00:00Z
Duration: 1 min 22 s
Description: The night before the Washington Supreme Court ruled on his appeal in September 2007, KXLY4 outlined the 21 errors Robert Yates claimed in his Tacoma double-murder trial, including a broken plea deal. Yates is not heard.

The night before the Washington Supreme Court ruled on his appeal in September 2007, KXLY4 outlined the 21 errors Robert Yates claimed in his Tacoma double-murder trial, including a broken plea deal. Yates is not heard.

Subject: Robert Lee Yates
Recorded: about September 26, 2007
Runtime: 1:22

Content warning: None required (refers to murders; no graphic detail).

The Report

This is a 1-minute-22-second KXLY4 news report from Spokane, posted on the station's YouTube channel on September 28, 2007. Reporter Jeff Humphrey, live in the KXLY newsroom, previewed the Washington State Supreme Court's ruling, due the next day, on Robert Lee Yates Jr.'s appeal of his Pierce County murder convictions and death sentence. Yates is not heard.

Historical Context

Robert Lee Yates Jr. pleaded guilty in Spokane County in October 2000 to 13 counts of first-degree murder and one of attempted first-degree murder and was sentenced to 408 years. Pierce County then tried him for the murders of Melinda Mercer and Connie Ellis near Tacoma; he was convicted on September 19, 2002, and sentenced to death on October 3, 2002.

Circumstances

On appeal, Yates argued among other things that his 2000 plea agreement should have covered the Pierce County cases and that the death sentence was disproportionate. The Washington Supreme Court upheld his convictions and death sentence on September 27, 2007. A September 2008 execution date was stayed, and after the court's 2018 ruling striking down the state's death penalty (State v. Gregory), his sentence was converted to life without parole.

What the Report Covers

The anchor says Yates will learn "tomorrow" whether he can get his conviction overturned and avoid execution. The reporter says Yates claimed the trial court made 21 mistakes, describing the appeal as "the shotgun approach." He summarizes the main claims: that Yates had agreed to plead guilty to murders in both Spokane and Tacoma but Pierce County prosecutors "pulled out of the deal" after his confessions (in the station's words, "double-crossed the killer"); that the Tacoma jury heard testimony about the Spokane killings, normally inadmissible "prior bad acts"; and challenges to the use of an FBI profiler, the jury's qualifications and the "common scheme or plan" finding.

What Makes the Recording Significant

It is contemporary local coverage of the appeal that confirmed Yates's death sentence in 2007, and it summarizes the claims in plain language for a Spokane audience.

Archival Importance

A report on KXLY's own channel.

Important Caveats

Robert Lee Yates Jr. is not heard. The station's figures are inconsistent: "11 women in Spokane" and "more than a dozen Spokane victims"; the 2000 Spokane plea covered 13 counts of first-degree murder. "Double-crossed" is the station's framing of the defense argument, not a finding. The court rejected the appeal. The "21 different mistakes" is the station's count; the court's opinion lists 11 issues on appeal plus 4 issues in its review of the death sentence. The length of the appeal document is uncertain in the machine text (see the transcript). The anchor's surname is not given.

Anchor: Tomorrow, serial killer Robert Yates will learn if he can get his death penalty conviction overturned and avoid execution. The Spokane man was convicted of murdering 11 women in Spokane, but sent to death row after he was prosecuted for killing two other victims in Pierce County. KXLY4's Jeff Humphrey is live in our newsroom tonight. Jeff, the state supreme court is reviewing the convictions from the west side of the state.

Jeff Humphrey: Yeah, Dave, that's where Yates feels the court made 21 different mistakes during his double murder trial in Tacoma. In his [unclear: "270-page" (Whisper; second machine pass) / "70-page" (captions)] appeal, Yates is using the shotgun approach, hoping to give the Supreme Court at least one reason to overturn his death sentence. Specifically, that Yates had agreed to plead guilty to murders in both Spokane and Tacoma, but having made those confessions, Pierce County prosecutors pulled out of the deal and then double-crossed the killer. Yates then stood trial in Tacoma for the murders of two women there, but his jury was allowed to hear testimony about Yates's role in the deaths of more than a dozen Spokane victims, and typically those prior bad acts are not admissible. The appeal also challenges the use of an FBI profiler, the qualifications of the jury, and whether the murders were part of a common scheme or plan. All issues that Yates is carefully following from his cell on death row. We'll have the court's decision coming up tomorrow afternoon here on KXLY4, and tomorrow morning on KXLY.com. [01:21: speech ends; clip runs to 01:22.] ---