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Prosecutors' Perspective on California's Death Penalty

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Prosecutors' Perspective on California's Death Penalty California District Attorneys Association Prosecutors' Perspective on California's Death Penalty Produced in collaboration with the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation MARCH 2003 GILBERT G. OTERO LAWRENCE G. BROWN President Executive Director Prosecutors' Perspective on California's Death Penalty MARCH 2003 CDAA BOARD OF DIRECTORS OFFICERS DIRECTORS PRESIDENT John Paul Bernardi, Los Angeles County Gilbert G. Otero Imperial County Cregor G. Datig, Riverside County SECOND VICE-PRESIDENT Bradford Fenocchio, Placer County David W. Paulson Solano County James P. Fox, San Mateo County SECRETARY-TREASURER Ed Jagels, Kern County Jan Scully Sacramento County Ernest J. LiCalsi, Madera County SERGEANT-AT-ARMS Martin T. Murray, San Mateo County Gerald Shea San Luis Obispo County Rolanda Pierre Dixon, Santa Clara County PAST PRESIDENT Frank J. Vanella, San Bernardino County Gordon Spencer Merced County Terry Wiley, Alameda County Acknowledgments The research and preparation of this document required the effort, skill, and collaboration of some of California’s most experienced capital-case prosecutors and talented administration- of-justice attorneys. Deep gratitude is extended to all who assisted. Special recognition is also deserved by CDAA’s Projects Editor, Kaye Bassett, Esq. This paper would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of the California District Attorneys Association’s Death Penalty White Paper Ad Hoc Committee. CALIFORNIA DISTRICT ATTORNEYS ASSOCIATION DEATH PENALTY WHITE PAPER AD HOC COMMITTEE JIM ANDERSON ALAMEDA COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE TAMI R. BOGERT CALIFORNIA DISTRICT ATTORNEYS ASSOCIATION SUSAN BLAKE CRIMINAL JUSTICE LEGAL FOUNDATION LAWRENCE G. BROWN CALIFORNIA DISTRICT ATTORNEYS ASSOCIATION WARD A. CAMPBELL CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL’S OFFICE BRENDA DALY SAN DIEGO COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE DANE GILLETTE CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL’S OFFICE DAVID R. LABAHN CALIFORNIA DISTRICT ATTORNEYS ASSOCIATION KENT SCHEIDEGGER CRIMINAL JUSTICE LEGAL FOUNDATION DAVID WHITNEY SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE Table of Contents Section Page Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................... i I. Death Penalty in Practice ................................................................................................................. 1 A. Who Gets the Death Penalty in California ....................................................................... 1 II. Background .................................................................................................................................. 11 A. A Brief History of the Death Penalty in California ..................................................... 11 B. Safeguards in Death Penalty Trials Protect Defendants ............................................... 13 1. Eligibility ...........................................................................................................13 2. Initial Screening Process ................................................................................... 14 3. Defense Attorneys .............................................................................................15 4. Jury Protections .................................................................................................16 5. Judicial Safeguards ............................................................................................16 C. California’s Procedure for Capital Case Review is Fair and Thorough ....................... 17 1. State Appellate/Habeas Corpus Process .......................................................... 17 a. The Record on Appeal .................................................................................. 18 b. Appointment of Appellate and Habeas Corpus Counsel ............................ 18 c. Briefing on Appeal ....................................................................................... 19 d. Habeas Corpus Petition ................................................................................ 19 e. Oral Argument and Opinion ........................................................................ 20 f. Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the United States Supreme Court ........... 20 2. Federal Habeas Corpus Review ....................................................................... 21 a. United States District Court ......................................................................... 21 b. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ................................................................... 22 c. Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the United States Supreme Court .......... 23 3. Last-Minute Proceedings and Litigation Leading to Execution ..................... 23 a. Scheduling Execution Date .......................................................................... 23 b. Application for Executive Clemency........................................................... 23 c. Successive Habeas Corpus Petitions ........................................................... 24 d. Civil Rights Suits ......................................................................................... 25 e. Competence to be Executed ......................................................................... 25 f. Pregnancy ...................................................................................................... 25 g. Volunteers ..................................................................................................... 25 III. Debunking Common Fallacies and Misinformation ...............................................................27 A. Innocent Prisoners are Not Being Executed, and the Claims of Wrongful Convictions are Based on Misleading, Exaggerated Data ........................................... 27 B. “Error Rate” Study Is Riddled with Errors of Its Own ................................................. 40 C. Deterrence: Risk the Lives of the Innocent to Save the Guilty? ................................... 44 D. The Death Penalty Is Not Racially Biased .................................................................... 46 E. Death Penalty Is Not Too Expensive ............................................................................. 48 F. Public Support of the Death Penalty Is Not Diminishing .............................................. 49 IV. Delay – And What to Do About It ........................................................................................ 51 V. Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 54 Endnotes ..................................................................................................................................... 56 Appendix A CA Capital Cases Reversed by the California Supreme Court (Chart) ............................ A-1 CA Capital Cases Reversed by Federal Courts (Chart)................................................... A-13 Other State Capital Cases Reversed by Federal Courts (Chart)...................................... A-15 Ninth Circuit State Executions (Chart)............................................................................. A-18 Appendix B Non-CA Cases of Alleged Innocence on DPIC List That Should Be Removed............... B-1 Executive Summary American society this last year has seen heightened attention to the imposition and application of the death penalty. A significant number of death-penalty cases have been accepted for review by the United States Supreme Court; departing Governor George Ryan of Illinois caused uproar by making a midnight, blanket commutation of 167 death sentences; Maryland Governor Parris Glendening imposed a two-year moratorium on the death penalty just before leaving office at the beginning of this year; and New York federal district court Judge Jed S. Rakoff held the death penalty unconstitutional – and promptly was overruled by the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. While ongoing challenges to and scrutiny of capital punishment are certainly nothing new, recent events and the exceedingly high level of interest at present necessitate a thorough look at the death penalty, particularly as applied in California. WHO GETS THE DEATH PENALTY IN CALIFORNIA Listed alphabetically, the following individuals are representative, though not all inclusive, of murderers who have been sentenced to death in California. S Clarence Ray Allen – While serving a life sentence for ordering the murder of a young girl who “snitched” on him, he ordered the murder of the witnesses who testified against him. During a “hit” on a witness, three young people were killed. He was convicted of triple murder, conspiracy to murder seven people, and three special circumstances, including witness-killing, prior murder, and multiple murder. S William George Bonin – Kidnapped, sodomized, molested, tortured, and murdered more than 20 young boys over a 12-year period. S Richard Allen Davis – While on parole, he kidnapped at knifepoint a 12-year-old girl from her home as she played with two young friends in her bedroom. He then drove her miles away and killed her. Her dumped, strangled, and decomposed body was found months later. S Robert Alton Harris – Murdered two young boys, ages 15 and 16, who were sitting in their car having lunch. He then stole their car, ate their lunch, and robbed a bank. S Robert Lee Massie – Convicted of multiple violent crimes and sentenced to death for fatally stabbing a woman in 1965.
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