May 10, 2012 -
OLYMPIA, Wash. - The Washington state Supreme Court has reversed the conviction and death sentence of Darold Stenson, calling for a new trial in his double murder case.
In an 8-1 ruling Thursday morning, the court ruled Stenson's rights had been violated, because the state "wrongfully suppressed" photographs from the defense. The situation had raised questions about mishandling of evidence and an FBI file.
Stenson was sentenced to death in 1994 for the 1993 slaying of his wife, Denise, and a business partner, Frank Hoerner, at Stenson's Clallam County exotic bird farm.
Stenson is housed at the Walla Walla State Penitentiary, his execution was put on hold while the constitutionality of the death penalty played out in Washington courts.
