Two people are convicted of kidnapping, raping and killing Linda Canady. Both are sentenced to death.
The California Supreme Court unanimously affirms the conviction and death sentence of Bertsch, but reverses the death sentence of Hronis. So even though they did the same thing -- no one's sure which one of them actually killed Ms. Canady (and it might well have been both of them), one allegedly ends up with a life sentence and the other is executed.
The California Supreme Court holds that Hronis gets relief because his alleged incompetency was not adequately addressed at the penalty phase. Hronis said that God told him that God would save him from an adverse verdict. When that didn't happen, and he was convicted, Hronis didn't want to put on a defense at the penalty phase, telling the judge that "he would prefer to send the jury home, save the state some money, be first in line to receive the death penalty, and “be with Jesus” rather than “rotting” in prison waiting for an appeal. He repeated: “If I can’t be free on the streets, I want to be free with Jesus. That’s exactly how I feel.”" The trial court "noted for the record that Hronis was “soft spoken, deliberate, and composed.”" By contrast, Bertsch didn't have the same issues, so his death sentence is affirmed.
As usual, it's not like either Bertsch or Hronis is actually going to be executed, regardless of today's decision. Which is why I said that only one of these two killers "allegedly" ends up getting executed. There's a death penalty moratorium in California, and that's not going to change anytime soon. Moreover, Ms. Canady was murdered in 1985 -- over four decades ago. Bertsch is now 68 years old, and Hronis is 67. Both of these senior citizens are dying in prison regardless.
Nonetheless, for all its practical worth (or lack thereof), here's a 200-plus page opinion on the subject.
