PORT ORCHARD — A man accused of killing a Quilcene couple is asking a Kitsap County judge to dismiss the charges against him because jail medical staff stopped giving him his anti-psychotic medication during the trial.
The lawyer for Michael J. Pierce, who is schizophrenic, alleges the jail’s for-profit contractor stopped giving him two medications, amounting to gross government misconduct.
The Kitsap Sun reported that the contractor disciplined two employees following an investigation. The company’s lawyer argued it was not a policy failure, but a human error that has been corrected.
Pierce was convicted of murder in the 2009 deaths of Patrick and Janice Yarr. They were shot in their home which was set on fire. A state appeals court threw out the conviction. Pierce’s second trial was halted after a juror revealed she may have been a witness. The trial was moved to Kitsap County.
Superior Court Judge Sally Olsen is expected to rule on the motion this week.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.