From King5 news report:SEATTLE -- In April of 2006, gunfire erupted in Pioneer Square and a man was killed. King County Deputy Prosecutor, James Konat has video of the deadly shooting, shell casings from the scene and an admission from Kevin Monday Jr.
The conviction for the murder of Francisco Green was all but guaranteed, but when it came time to try the case witnesses started changing.
King Co. Prosecuting Attorney, Dan Satterberg says, "I think deputy prosecutor was trying to help the jury sort out what they had just seen but in doing it, he broke the rules and said something he shouldn't have."
During the trial, Konat told the jury, "The code is black folk don't testify against black folk."
Satterberg says those kinds of racial comments were "wrong and offensive." An appeals court ruled the error, although wrong was harmless. The Washington State Supreme Court disagreed. Today they reversed Monday's conviction. Satterberg says given the totality of the case, he doesn't believe the verdict should have been overturned.
Satterberg says his entire staff has since gone through training about what you can and can't say during trials. Konat in particular has been counseled. "This deputy has learned a lesson he'll never forget. "
Monday will stay in jail until the retrial. Konat will not be the prosecutor in the case. It's expected to happen within the next couple of months.
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