State Supreme Court hears L.A. killer’s appeal in case that could lead to death penalty reversals

Attorneys appealing the conviction of a Los Angeles double murderer argued Wednesday before the California Supreme Court that the state’s application of capital punishment is uneven and unconstitutional, possibly paving the way for the reversal of hundreds of death sentences.

Justices heard the automatic appeal of Don’te Lamont McDaniel for the death sentence he received for the 2004 shootings of rival gang member George Brooks, 33, in a drug dispute and Annette Anderson, 52, who witnessed the killing in the Nickerson Gardens housing project in Watts. A co-defendant, Kai Harris, has filed a separate appeal that is pending.

Several powerful political allies, including Gov. Gavin Newsom and several progressive prosecutors across the state, are supporting McDaniel’s effort to set aside his death penalty verdict.

During Wednesday’s hearing, Supreme Court Associate Justice Goodwin Liu questioned Elias Batchelder, senior deputy for the state Public Defender’s Office, [and Co-Chair of the CACJ Legislative Committee] whether there have been many cases in California where there has been a reversible error due to the omission of a reasonable-doubt instruction to juries considering whether to impose the death penalty.

“There have been no reversals of sentences based on the idea of that the reasonable-doubt instruction was not provided,” Batchelder replied. “Imposing a high burden of proof protecting the defendant has never, ever been seen to interfere with a jury’s power.”

Read more from the OC Register

The New York Times published a detailed expose on the case. Click the link to the article for all the details.

Earlier Governor Jerry Brown had mandated further testing, Governor Newsom's Executive Order, linked here, goes even further.

The report shows that the country has seen the lowest number of death sentences in the last 40 years. And here in California, the vast majority of counties no longer seek the death penalty in capital cases.

That's progress, but there's still a lot of work to do. We are getting closer to eradicating a death penalty system that is broken beyond repair, risks innocent lives, and wastes billions of taxpayer dollars. But we won't stop until every county in California -- and every state in the country -- stops using the death penalty.

This new DPIC report shows that momentum is on our side -- and we need to make sure everyone knows it!

Pictured left is Nancy Haydt, CACJ's Death Penalty Committee Co-Chair, speaking out in support of the repeal measure.

Death Penalty Repeal Measure #15-0066 repeals the death penalty as maximum punishment for people found guilty of murder, replacing it with life without possibility of parole. It also applies retroactively to those already sentenced to death. People found guilty of murder must work while in prison and up to 60% of their wages may be applied to victim restitution. This initiative is expected to reduce net state and local costs by around $150 million annually within a few years.

• LAO Death Penalty Initiative Statute

Death Penalty Streamlining Measure #15-0096 changes procedures regarding appeals and petitions challenging convictions, including designating superior court for initial petitions, limiting successive petitions, and imposing time limits on reviews. It requires additional appointed attorneys to accept death penalty appeals, making prison officials exempt from existing regulations in the process of developing execution methods, authorizes inmate transfers, and inmates must work and pay victim restitution.

“Pfizer makes its products to enhance and save the lives of the patients we serve,” the company said in Friday’s statement, and “strongly objects to the use of its products as lethal injections for capital punishment.”

Read more from the New York Times.

In Glossip v. Gross, Breyer previously noted “there are too many instances in which courts sentence defendants to death without complying with the necessary procedures; and they suggest that, in a significant number of cases, the death sentence is imposed on a person who did not commit the crime.”

Read more from the Sac Bee.

"It doesn't address the causes of the delay," he said. The causes include the fact that there are too many crimes that now qualify for the death penalty, he said. "We end up with too many cases - more than the system can handle - coming in the door every year," he said"

The Justice that Works Act of 2016- Eliminating the Death Penalty

This proposed initiative would prevent a person from being sentenced to death in California. Those currently sentenced to death would have their sentence changed to life without the possibility of parole. In addition, the initiative would require inmates to work in prison and increase the amount of victim restitution that can be removed from wages. See the initiative language here.

The Attorney General recently released the initiative Title and Summary. The AG tagged the initiative as a $150 million savings annually for the state and local government. The proponents have until May 17th to gather enough signatures to officially qualify for the November 2016 ballot. For additional background information, you can see the non-partisan fiscal analysis of the initiative here.

"Natasha Minsker, a director of the ACLU of Northern California, said Wednesday’s ruling marked the first time that a federal judge had found the state’s current system unconstitutional. She said it was also “the first time any judge has ruled systemic delay creates an arbitrary system that serves no legitimate purpose and is therefore unconstitutional.”"

Read more from the LA Times article
Copy of Order is located here