Abused killer claims counsel erred

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To Darrell Cloud, 11 years of sexual abuse was reason to shoot his abuser. To his attorney, it was a ticket to a verdict of not guilty, by reason of insanity. To the prosecutors, it was reason to offer a plea bargain that would mean a shorter sentence.

But Cloud was found guilty of first-degree murder for shooting teacher Neal Summers in 1994. That meant a mandatory 20-year sentence - far more than in a similar case.

Just how that happened is the subject of a King County Superior Court hearing that could reduce Cloud's sentence or give him a new trial, if it can be shown that he was poorly represented by attorney John Henry Browne.

Browne had recommended Cloud reject a plea bargain of second-degree murder and a 15-year sentence.

Browne, who was on the witness stand Monday, said that Cloud was well-informed of the risks if he rejected the deal.

Yesterday, Prosecuting Attorney Chief of Staff Dan Satterberg testified that Browne told him that "no jury would convict his client of first-degree murder and that a judge would direct a verdict of (not guilty by reason of insanity ) rather than let it go to a jury."

Satterberg said Browne predicted Cloud would be sent to Western State Hospital and released within a few years. He said Browne told him that a national television program planned to cover the trial and that the prosecutors' office would be "embarrassed by the coverage."

Satterberg said his office wasn't going to dispute that Cloud had been sexually abused by the Whitman Middle School teacher, and that the abuse might have justified an exceptional, shorter sentence had the 20-year term not been mandatory.

Cloud also testified yesterday. He said Summers, who began sexually abusing him at 13, told his parents he had work for him - which, in reality, was sexual favors - so that Cloud could pay off debts. He said Summers stalked him for years, even showing up on the Washington State University campus to demand sex.

Cloud was 24 when he shot Summers as the teacher arrived at school.

Two years earlier, a Yakima man who was sexually abused by his employer was sentenced to 21 months in prison after being convicted of manslaughter in what the judge described as a "tragic" case of abuse.

Browne, Cloud said, initially "came in like a car salesman ... saying he was well-known and had a really good record."

When the prosecution offered the plea bargain, Cloud rejected it because "John Henry said it wasn't a good deal."