[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----CALIF., TEXAS

[Rick Halperin]

April 7


CALIFORNIA:

State High Court Upholds Death Sentence in Drug-Related Murder


The California Supreme Court yesterday unanimously upheld the death
sentence imposed on a young San Diego man for the murder of a pregnant
woman who may have planned to reveal a plot to kill a drug dealer.

In an opinion by Justice Joyce L. Kennard, the court rejected the
contention that Robert Jurado Jr.s confrontation rights were violated when
testimony given in an earlier proceeding by a key witness was admitted at
his trial for the murder of Teresa Holloway.

Jurado was 20 years old when Holloway, 26, was strangled and beaten to
death May 15, 1991. Her body was found in a culvert beneath Highway 163 in
San Diego County 2 days later.

Prosecutors alleged that Jurado; his girlfriend Anna Humiston; and Denise
Shigemura killed Holloway after she learned of their plan to kill Doug
Mynatt. Witnesses testified that Mynatt sold methamphetamine and that his
customers included Jurado and Brian Johnsen, who had been living with
Holloway up until about a month before she was killed.

Humiston, a 17-year-old Patrick Henry High School student at the time of
the murder, became a suspect after she bragged to her friends at school
that she held the victim while Jurado strangled her. Humiston was
sentenced to 25 years to life in state prison, as was Shigemura, who
shared an apartment with Jurado.

The plan to kill Mynatt, to whom Jurado allegedly owed money, allegedly
came about after the drug dealer supposedly stole Shigemuras purse. Jurado
allegedly shared details of the plot with Johnsen, who was in custody on
drug charges at the time.

Prosecutors charged Jurado with 1st degree murder with the special
circumstance of lying in wait, and initially said they would not seek the
death penalty. They later added the conspiracy charge.

Following a preliminary hearing, the defense moved to dismiss the
special-circumstance allegation under Penal Code Sec. 995. The
prosecution, in the meantime, moved to have Johnsen testify at a
conditional examination, saying he was in fear of his life.

San Diego Superior Court Judge David Gill Gill granted the motion, and
Johnsen testified that he and the defendant had discussed a plan to kill
Mynatt and that Jurado later admitted killing Holloway because "it had to
be done."

Later, the judge dismissed the special circumstance allegation and the
defendant pled guilty to the remaining charges.

Prior to sentencing, however, the prosecution petitioned the Court of
Appeal for a writ of mandate, and that court eventually reinstated the
special-circumstance allegation and rejected Jurados argument that his
guilty plea barred a trial on that allegation under double jeopardy
principles.

Jurado then withdrew his guilty plea, pled not guilty, and denied the
lying-in-wait allegation. Prosecutors then announced that they had changed
their mind about seeking the death penalty, and the judge rejected a
defense bid to bar them from doing so.

Jurors found the defendant guilty, determined the special allegation to be
true, and returned a death penalty verdict at the end of the penalty
phase.

State Public Defender Michael Hersek, who represented Jurado on appeal,
argued that a conditional examination cannot be taken by the prosecution
in a death penalty case. Deputy Attorney General Marvin Mizell responded
that the examination was proper, and that, in any event, the prosecution
was not seeking the death penalty at the time of the examination.

Kennard said the prosecution had the better of the argument, reasoning
that Penal Code Sec. 1335(a), which allows a conditional examination in
any case but bars the prosecution from seeking one in a capital case, does
not apply when the examination is sought under Sec. 1336(b). Sec. 1336(b)
applies only to serious felony cases and only when there is reason to
believe the life of the witness is in danger.

The justice went on to say that there was sufficient reason for Johnsens
testimony to be taken by conditional examination, even though he had not
been threatened.

Saying the trial judge had broad discretion in the matter, the justice
wrote:

"Because of the evidence that defendant, Shigemura, and Humiston had
killed Holloway to prevent her from exposing a plot to kill Mynatt, the
trial court...could justifiably conclude that defendant and the persons
with whom he associated would be likely to use deadly force against anyone
perceived as a threat, and that the substance of Johnsens proposed
testimony made him an actual or potential threat to defendant and his
codefendants...."

The justice also rejected the argument that the prosecution had
impermissibly changed its position and asked for the death penalty in
retaliation for the defendant challenging the special-circumstance
allegation. While that may have been a factor, the justice wrote, it was
not improper for the prosecution to consider it.

Besides, Kennard said, it cannot be assumed that this was the only reason
for the prosecutions shift. Between the time it announced its original
position and the time it changed it, she noted, the prosecution case had
been bolstered by Johnsens testimony at the conditional examination and by
the presentation of evidence at Humistons trial.

The case is People v. Jurado, 06 S.O.S. 1732.

(source: Metropolitan News Company)






TEXAS:

Judge: Baby killer was insane----Child bled to death in crib after mother
cut off her arms


A woman accused of killing her 10-month-old daughter by cutting off her
arms was found not guilty of capital murder by reason of insanity in her
retrial Friday.

Police arrested Dena Schlosser in November 2004 after finding her baby
Margaret dying in her crib and Schlosser covered in blood, holding a knife
and listening to a hymn.

Schlosser will be sent to the maximum security Vernon State Mental
Hospital.

Schlosser, 38, didn't say anything as bailiffs led her away after the
verdict.

"We have a just verdict in a just case, but yes, it is bittersweet."
defense attorney David Haynes said. "She wanted to be sent to the state
hospital in Vernon. She feels it is her best chance to get better."

A judge issued the verdict after brief proceedings. Defense attorneys and
prosecutors agreed last week to have Judge Chris Oldner decide the case
after a jury deadlocked in February, forcing a mistrial.

The case hinged on whether Schlosser had severe mental problems that kept
her from knowing the wrongfulness of the crime -- the Texas standard for
insanity. Last week it was revealed that Schlosser had a brain tumor that
defense attorneys said could have caused hallucinations before the
killing, but neither the tumor nor any other evidence was discussed
Friday.

Both sides waived closing arguments Friday, and the judge ruled based on
evidence presented in the 1st trial.

Prosecutors didn't immediately comment, and jurors declined to talk about
the case.

Schlosser will be sent to the Vernon hospital for 30 days, after which
time the hospital will issue a report on her mental health and a judge
will decide whether she needs to be recommitted. If she is recommitted, a
judge will review another report after six months, then another each year
she's hospitalized after that.

"My own expectation is that she will remain at the hospital for many, many
years," Haynes said.

Bob Nicholas, Schlosser's former stepfather who helped raised her and the
only relative in attendance Friday, said the verdict was the best possible
scenario.

"This whole case, this whole situation with Dena, was a tragedy," Nicholas
said. "We've got the loss of Maggie, who never reached her first birthday.
We've got 2 little girls coping with the loss of their sister and of a
loving, caring mother."

John Schlosser, Schlosser's husband, has filed for divorce and has custody
of the couple's 2 other daughters.

Dena Schlosser's tumor was a new element in the defense's argument, which
had focused on her psychological disorders. Several psychiatrists in her
first trial testified that Schlosser lost touch with reality, suffered
severe mood swings and experienced religious hallucinations and delusions.

While one witness alluded to a possible brain lesion, miscommunication
between doctors delayed further testing until three weeks after the
mistrial. A neurologist's confirmation of a brain tumor gave the defense
another argument, which it presented at a hearing March 31.

During her first trial, one doctor said Schlosser told him she wanted to
cut off her baby's arms and her own limbs and head and give them God.
Other medical testimony referenced erratic behavior and hallucinations,
including apostles rising out of blood-filled streets to herald the
apocalypse.

Testimony in the first trial lasted seven days and also included police,
acquaintances, family, social workers and Schlosser's preacher, Doyle
Davidson.

The defense faulted Schlosser's husband for not getting her adequate
mental health treatment and also blamed Davidson, who believes only God
can cure mental illness.

The state argued the defense was trying to deflect responsibility from
Schlosser. Prosecutors presented a methodical case, focusing on possible
inconsistencies and behaviors that might indicate Schlosser knew killing
her baby was wrong.

After 42 hours of deliberations, the jury deadlocked with 10 of the 12
agreeing she was insane. Oldner declared a mistrial February 25.

(source: Associated Press)