the state Supreme Court overturned Allen Eugene Gregory 's death penalty...

the state Supreme Court overturned Allen Eugene Gregory 's death penalty, saying evidence from his rescinded rape convictions and a prosecutor's misconduct require a new sentence.
The 8-1 majority overturned the rape convictions, saying the trial judge should have considered evidence that may have helped Gregory's defense.
The justices then threw out Gregory's death sentence, saying evidence of the rapes influenced his sentencing for murder. The court also said it would have overturned the death sentence anyway, because the prosecutor committed misconduct by improperly suggesting life in prison was too lenient for Gregory.
Gregory's murder conviction was sent back to Pierce County Superior Court for resentencing. He was originally sentenced in May 2001 for the July 1996 rape, robbery and killing of Geneine Ann Harshfield.
Gregory had been a suspect in the death of Harshfield, 43, who was stabbed in her home. But the murder went unsolved for 2 years, until police drew Gregory's blood for evidence after his arrest in the separate rape case.
Tacoma police matched Gregory's DNA to semen stains from Harshfield's bed and her body.