OLYMPIA, Wash. — The state Supreme Court has overturned the conviction of the getwaway driver for the man who killed four Lakewood police officers.
Dorcus Allen was convicted of four counts of aggravated murder for driving Maurice Clemmons to a spot four blocks away from the Forza Coffee shop where the officers were shot and killed in 2009.
Clemmons walked to the shop, shot the officers and returned to the car, police said.
Allen was sentenced in June 2011 to 420 years in prison.
Allen sought a new trial, saying the prosecutor made misstatements concerning the definition of "knowledge" during closing arguments.
The Court of Appeals first ruled that Allen would not get a new trial. The case then went to the state's Supreme Court.
According to the high court's opinion, the state was required to prove that Allen knew that Clemmons would commit the murders.
During his closing argument, the prosecuting attorney initially stated the correct definition of "knowledge" as it was used in the jury instruction.
“However, immediately afterward, the prosecuting attorney stated that '(f)or shorthand we're going to call that 'should have known,'" the court opinion read. “The prosecuting attorney went on to repeatedly and improperly use the phrase 'should have known' when describing the definition of 'knowledge.'"
He also presented a slide show during his closing argument that repeatedly referred to the "should have known" standard, the court said.
The justices ruled that Allen should get a new trial because the prosecuting attorney "committed prejudicial misconduct by misstating the standard upon which the jury may convict an accomplice."
KIRO
