Santa Clara Law Review Volume 30 | Number 1 Article 1 1-1-1990 The rW it of Error Coram Nobis in California Morgan Prickett Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/lawreview Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Morgan Prickett, The Writ of Error Coram Nobis in California, 30 Santa Clara L. Rev. 1 (1990). Available at: http://digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/lawreview/vol30/iss1/1 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at Santa Clara Law Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Santa Clara Law Review by an authorized administrator of Santa Clara Law Digital Commons. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. ARTICLES THE WRIT OF ERROR CORAM NOBIS IN CALIFORNIA Morgan Prickett* John Lawrence Welch killed two persons after he had con- sumed a substantial quantity of alcohol. At the commencement of his trial for murder, he withdrew his initial pleas of not guilty by reason of insanity and entered new pleas of guilty to two counts of murder stipulated to have been of the first degree. He was sentenced to death. The conviction was affirmed by the California Supreme Court. Medical tests conducted while Welch was on Death Row dis- closed that he had suffered severe organic brain damage as the result of a childhood illness. It was also determined that the consumption of alcohol aggravated Welch's physical brain damage, thereby pre- cipitating episodes of violent conduct during which he was unable to recognize or understand the nature and consequences of his acts.