Thursday, August 27, 2015

People v. Romero & Self (Cal. Supreme Court - Aug. 26, 2015)

Sometimes you read these death penalty cases and wonder what it was that led the jury to invoke the death penalty.

Not here.

Just read the first nine pages of the opinion, which recounts the various crimes that the defendants committed during two months in 1992, alongside their subsequent escape attempts from prison in 1994.

Wow.  It'd be hard to find a (death-qualified) jury that would not sentence these two to death.

A third defendant is equally culpable.  But he testified against the other two.  So only gets 51 to life pursuant to a plea deal.  Including eligibility for parole.  And gets to serve his sentence out of state.

It's good to be the one who flips.