PORT ANGELES — Clallam County has hired a special deputy prosecutor to handle an appeal of Darold Stenson’s 2013 double-murder conviction.
Stenson was twice convicted for the 1993 shooting deaths of his wife, Denise Stenson, and business partner, Frank Hoerner, at his Sequim-area bird farm.
His most recent conviction is being appealed in the Court of Appeals Division II in Tacoma.
The three Clallam County commissioners Tuesday approved a $14,500-minimum agreement with Jeremy Morris of the Port Orchard law firm Glisson & Morris PS to handle the appeal as a special deputy.
Morris on Tuesday said the defense is preparing a legal brief that will initiate the appellate proceedings. The defense has until May to file the brief.
Morris also will handle a personal restraint petition filed by Corean Barnes, whose 2012 second-degree rape conviction was overturned by the Court of Appeals, and any other appeals as assigned by Clallam County, according to the agreement.
“It’s to enable an outside special deputy to attend to complex appeals that can’t reasonably be handled with the current staffing constraints in our office,” Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Nichols told commissioners Monday.
“So that’s the reason for which it’s back before you.”
Nichols, a former chief deputy in the office he now oversees, was elected county prosecutor last November. He asked commissioners for extra staff support earlier this year.
Double-murder trial
At $1.1 million, Stenson’s second double-murder trial is believed to be the most expensive in Clallam County history.
The case was heard in Kitsap County Superior Court in Port Orchard because of intense publicity the case generated in Clallam County.
Stenson was first convicted for the March 25, 1993, murders in 1994.
The former death row inmate was about a week away from a scheduled execution when a judge issued a stay in 2008.
The state Supreme Court overturned Stenson’s first conviction in May 2012.
Retired Clallam County Superior Court Judge S. Brooke Taylor presided over the six-week retrial in late 2013. Then Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney Deborah Kelly, who since has retired, represented the state.
Clallam County received a $500,000 reimbursement from the state Legislature for the cost of the second murder trial.
The money was distributed to union-represented county employees who volunteered to pay an amount equal to their 2012 cost-of-living raise to the employer portion of their medical benefits premium.
Commissioner Mike Chapman objected to the payment, saying the money was intended to be used to recover extraordinary criminal justice costs.
Life sentence
Stenson is serving a mandatory life term at Washington State Penitentiary at Walla Walla.
“I brought this back before the board primarily because the contract that we’ve developed contains a liability provision,” Nichols said.
“So because of that, the county administrative policy just requires board approval.
“The special deputy appointment is something that I’ll take care of myself as a county prosecutor,” Nichols added.
“This is a contract that memorializes the services that I brought back before you earlier this year in discussion.”
Stenson’s defense filed a notice of appeal Dec. 10, 2013 — the day he was sentenced.
Appellate papers were filed with the Court of Appeals Division II in February 2014.
________
Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
