PORT ORCHARD — Closing arguments in the fourth double-murder trial of Michael J. Pierce will begin today (Monday) in Kitsap County Superior Court.
The trial proceedings start at 9 a.m. at 617 Division St.
Pierce, 39, is accused of the 2009 murders of Quilcene residents Pat and Janice Yarr.
Jefferson County Deputy Prosecutor Chris Ashcraft said the day will begin with Kitsap County Superior Court Judge Sally Olsen reading 68 pages of instructions to the jury, followed by closing arguments from prosecutors and Pierce’s attorney, Richard Davies.
The statements are limited to 90 minutes each.
Then the case will go to the jury to consider a verdict, which Ashcraft said could take place late in the day.
As Tuesday is a holiday, he said it would be likely that jury deliberations could begin Wednesday morning.
Ashcraft won’t predict how long deliberations will take, saying, “Once it goes to the jury, anything can happen.”
The trial began Oct. 20 and ran for 3½ days each week.
Ashcraft was ill during the second week, which caused a delay.
This week, Olsen decided to continue the trial through the week out of consideration for the jury, Ashcraft said.
Prosecuting Attorney Scott Rosekrans said the prosecution case was stronger during the current trial because of the testimony of three inmates that Pierce had confessed the crimes to while in the Jefferson County jail.
None of the three was given anything in exchange for testimony, aside from transferring probation efforts to Kitsap County, Rosekrans said.
Pierce was convicted in the 2010 trial by a Jefferson County jury and was serving a life sentence in prison when the state Court of Appeals overturned the verdict in 2012.
The court ruled that Pierce’s constitutional rights were denied after his arrest and that Rosekrans’ closing argument represented prosecutorial misconduct.
The Washington State Bar Association later said it could not find that Rosekrans had committed an ethical violation for speculating during closing arguments what the Yarrs and Pierce were thinking during the night of the murders.
The next two retrials, in Jefferson County in July 2013 and Kitsap County this past March, ended in mistrials.
The first mistrial was called because a juror recalled seeing someone who might have been Pierce on the night of the murders.
The second was after Pierce was not given his anti-psychotic medication while he was in custody in the Kitsap County jail.
Olsen denied in September a motion from Davies to dismiss all charges primarily based on Kitsap County’s failure to provide medication.
Should a conviction occur in the current trial, the medication failure will be a grounds for appeal, Davies has said.
Davies was not available for comment Saturday.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
