On Sept. 26, the Washington Supreme Court held that a man who entered an Alford plea (commonly treated the same as a no-contest plea) in a capital case could then be sentenced to death, despite the longstanding common law prohibition against no-contest pleas in capital cases.

Dayva Cross entered an Alford plea to killing his wife and two of her three daughters in 2001 and was sentenced to death. Specifically, "ne March 1999 evening, Cross struck his wife, Anoutchka, in the face during an argument. The next morning, Anoutchka's 13-year-old daughter, M.B., woke to the sounds of Cross brutally and repeatedly stabbing her mother and her elder sister, 18-year-old Solome, to death. Cross then tried to force his way into the bedroom M.B. shared with her 15-year-old sister, Amanda. Despite Amanda's efforts to keep the door closed, Cross forced it off its hinges and killed her in front of M.B.'s eyes. Cross then kept M.B. confined at knife point for five hours while he drank wine and watched television. M.B. escaped after he fell asleep." (citations omitted)

My question: Why the fuck did they let him enter an Alford plea?