Killer's death sentence lifted

The state Supreme Court threw out a death sentence yesterday for a man who raped and killed a 65-year-old Tacoma woman almost eight years ago, saying the shackles he was forced to wear in court could have influenced jurors.

In an 8-1 decision, justices upheld Cecil Davis' aggravated-murder conviction even though at least one juror spotted his concealed shackles, finding that there was "overwhelming evidence" that Davis killed Yoshiko Couch.

But they ruled that the leg restraints could have affected Davis' sentence because jurors are asked to consider how dangerous defendants are when deciding whether they should serve life in prison or be executed.

Shackles tell jurors a defendant is seen as dangerous and unmanageable, the court ruled in an earlier case.

Pierce County Prosecutor Gerald Horne must now decide whether to ask a new jury to sentence Davis to death or let him spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Deputy prosecutor John Hillman said he is disappointed with the Supreme Court's decision and "respectfully disagrees" with the idea that seeing Davis' shackles somehow swayed the juror.

The ruling was mixed news for Davis' attorneys, Catherine Chaney and Gil Levy.

"We're disappointed that the court didn't reverse the conviction, but highly delighted that they reversed the death sentence," Levy said. "We are very hopeful now that we will be able to save his life."

It's far from the first time that a defendant's leg chains have become an issue in a death penalty case. The death sentence of Charles Ben Finch was overturned on appeal because jurors saw him in restraints, but Finch -- who was convicted of killing a Snohomish County sheriff's deputy and another man in 1994 -- later committed suicide.

The Supreme Court rejected a similar argument by Richard Matthew Clark, who killed 7-year-old Roxanne Doll in Everett in 1995, but overturned his death sentence for other reasons.

Yesterday, the court said defendants shouldn't be shackled unless there is reason to believe they'll hurt someone or try to escape, though Davis had never caused any problems in court.

Couch's body was found Jan. 25, 1997, in the bathtub of her home. She had been raped, choked and suffocated with towels soaked in Goof Off, a toxic household solvent.

Her husband, who was partially paralyzed from a previous stroke, was still downstairs and didn't know what happened.

Evidence tying Davis to the murder included the food, beer and cigarettes he had apparently stolen from Couch's house, along with the traces of cleanser and blood on his shoes.

In Davis' trial, a judge ordered that Davis be restrained in court after prosecutors and a jail supervisor mentioned a jail policy to shackle inmates facing serious charges. The judge had attorneys put a wall of boxes, briefcases and garbage cans under the table where Davis sat to keep jurors from seeing the chain on his ankles.

But one juror later said he caught a glimpse of "a shiny device" around Davis' ankles during the "guilt phase" -- when jurors determine guilt or innocence -- in Davis' trial.

Yesterday, in the opinion written by Justice Faith Ireland, the court ruled that the shackles could have affected the jury's later decision in sentencing Davis.

In his dissent, Justice Richard Sanders said Davis should also get a new trial to determine his guilt or innocence in the crime, not just to decide his sentence.

P-I reporter Tracy Johnson can be reached at 206-448-8169 or tracyjohnson@seattlepi.com

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