Frequent robber squanders second chance; sentenced to life in prison

SEATTLE -- A man convicted for the fourth time for a string of robberies was sentenced to life in prison Friday under Washington's Three Strikes Law.

David Conyers had been given a second chance at freedom when Gov. Jay Inslee commuted his sentence three years ago. But that chance was squandered.

Conyers was convicted last year on six counts of second-degree robbery, which prosecutors called his 4th strike.

“I am truly remorseful and my intention was to never offend anyone," Conyers said when he was in prison in the 1990s. "I ask for mercy by this court, to consider giving me a sentence that’s appropriate for these offenses. A sentence that’s less than life without parole."

But Conyers did receive life in prison without parole this time, and Judge Julie Spector reminded him Friday of the second chance he had already been given.

“You were granted clemency by Governor Inslee in December of 2016 and within six weeks of your release, this series of robberies started to occur until you were apprehended," Spector said.

In 1995, Conyers was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of a string of convenience store robberies.

"It’s wrong for these people to do me like this," Conyers said when he was in prison in the 1990s. "First of all, I'm young, I need more treatment than I need incarceration. I was high and under the influence of drugs."

But while Conyers is facing life in prison again, his attorney says the fight isn’t over.

“It’s just beginning. I think we have decent grounds for an appeal for various and assorted reasons," Jim Conroy said. "I think the statute is unconstitutional that permits this to happen."

Although Conroy believes the Three Strikes law should be overturned, the judge pointed out that the law had already been challenged several times and upheld in higher courts.