Mak sentenced to life without parole in massacre

Almost 20 years after three gunmen hog-tied and shot 13 people in a gambling club in Seattle's Chinatown, Kwan Fai "Willie" Mak was sentenced yesterday to life in prison for his role in the 1983 execution-style killings.

King County Superior Court Judge Laura Inveen acknowledged that the sentence would not satisfy some of the victims' relatives, who hoped Mak's 1984 death sentence would be reimposed.

"This is not the resolution some of the families would hope for," Inveen said. "But it is my hope that these proceedings will bring some closure for them."

Mak was sentenced to death for participating in the killings at the Wah Mee Social Club in the Chinatown International District. Now 41, his black hair streaked with gray, Mak sat somberly as the judge ordered him to serve 13 life sentences without the possibility of parole.

Inveen ruled last month that the jury which sentenced Mak to death was not asked whether he had acted with premeditation. Under Washington law, only the mastermind of a murder, and not an accomplice, can be put to death.

"Death is not a legal option in this case," Inveen said in the brief sentencing hearing.

Prosecutors, who for the past decade have sought to have Mak's death sentence reimposed, said they would not appeal the decision. But they criticized the judge's ruling.

"The court is confusing finality with justice," said Tim Bradshaw, deputy prosecuting attorney.

Bradshaw said the crime, which came to be known as the Wah Mee Massacre, remains one of the worst mass murders in the nation's history.

"Now a jury won't be able to consider whether the ultimate crime is deserving of the ultimate punishment," Bradshaw said.

The Mak case has highlighted both the high cost and the lengthy criminal appeals surrounding death-penalty prosecutions. More than $400,000 has been spent on Mak's legal defense. Prosecutors have spent significant additional money fighting those appeals at both the state and federal levels.

Two other defendants in the crime were Benjamin Ng, convicted of aggravated murder and serving life without parole, and Tony Ng (no relation), acquitted of murder charges but convicted of robbery and assault. He was sentenced to 13 life terms.

Benjamin Ng was represented at trial by prominent Seattle criminal defense attorney John Henry Browne. But Mak was represented by two relatively inexperienced public defenders.

In 1991, U.S. District Court Judge William Dwyer overturned Mak's death penalty, saying his lawyers' work during the sentencing phase of the trial did not meet constitutional standards.

Defense attorney Kathryn Ross said justice was served yesterday by giving Mak essentially the same sentence received by the other two men. And she questioned the amount of time and resources spent over the past decade by prosecutors trying to reimpose the death penalty.

"The community would have been safer, and better served, if the money spent on trying to put Mr. Mak to death was instead spent to help young immigrants be successful," she said.

Mak was 15 and spoke no English when his family came to this country from Hong King, she said.

The Wah Mee was a private club where older Asians gathered to play cards and socialize. But it also was a high-stakes, after-hours gambling operation. Mak and the two Ngs tied up 13 card players and shot most of them in the head twice before fleeing with the money they found there.

One man survived the massacre and went on to identify the gunmen.

Lynn Thompson can be reached at 206-464-2922 or lthompson@seattletimes.com.