Resentencing hearings for Planned Parenthood, S-R office bombers delayed due to COVID-19

Court hearings to determine whether two men who bombed the Spokane Valley offices of Planned Parenthood and The Spokesman-Review in 1996 should remain behind bars have been delayed to September.

Robert S. Berry, 66, will now appear before U.S. District Court Judge Frem Nielsen in September on an appeal of his life prison sentence, as will Jay Merrell, 74. Both men were convicted by jury for their roles in the white supremacist-motivated bombing of the two locations, as well as armed robbery of a nearby U.S. Bank branch. Both men were members of the Phineas Priesthood, a domestic terror organization that gained a foothold in north Idaho.

Berry, who was in custody of the Spokane County Jail as of Wednesday morning, was scheduled to appear before Nielsen at 9 a.m. But the hearing was postponed because “multiple parties” involved in the case reported possible exposure to the coronavirus and are in quarantine for 14 days, according to court paperwork.

A fourth bomber, Charles Barbee, already is scheduled for resentencing later in September. Brian Ratigan, who participated in the Planned Parenthood bombing and subsequent armed robbery, was released from prison last week.

The resentencing was made possible by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that found the federal law the men were prosecuted under and received consecutive prison sentences totaling decades was unconstitutionally vague.