Read the article and you will see why. The case was not weak at all. There was no question that Haq killed one person and wounded five and that he deliberately chose a Jewish target. The defense raised an insanity plea. Also, a police interview of Haq was ruled inadmissable by a judge.
I just read it like you suggested... the police didn't help the prosecution any...
It sounds like the defendant had a stronger case for not guilty by reason of insanity without the police interview... but I believe in that case... he would be institutionalized.
From the article:
“One of the biggest was a pretrial ruling by King County Superior Court Judge Paris Kallas that placed a detailed, 55-minute interview Haq had with police right after the shooting off-limits for evidence, because police had ignored Haq’s multiple requests to speak with an attorney.”
This raises some interesting questions. Say that there was an active shooting like this and law enforcement believed that the individual was a member of a terror cell and had information about terror attacks set to occur within the coming days or weeks. Would the LE’s only options after a request to speak with an attorney was made be to have the DOJ contact the President and request an immediate “enemy combatant” designation?