I'm not getting into the death penalty debate
, but here's some more info:
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/special_packages/laci_peterson/10412556.htm
Road to death is long and filled with appeals
By Jessie Seyfer and Howard Mintz
Mercury News
When a dozen jurors decided Monday that Scott Peterson should receive the death penalty, they bucked a national and statewide trend. But with a notoriously long appeals process and a massive backlog of inmates on death row, it's also a decision that may never be carried out.
The process takes so long, legal analysts said, that Peterson is far more likely to die of natural causes than from a lethal injection.
``The math is very simple,'' said former San Mateo County prosecutor Chuck Smith. ``We have 640 men on death row. We execute one person about every three years. He's at the very end of that group. He's going to die in prison.''
California has executed just 10 men since 1978, when the state restored capital punishment. During the same time, 22 condemned inmates have died of natural causes and 13 others have committed suicide. There hasn't been an execution in nearly three years. The average length of time spent on death row of the past three inmates executed was roughly 20 years. There are currently 644 inmates on death row.
Peterson's attorney, Mark Geragos, has already vowed to seek a new trial and to pursue ``every and all appeals,'' though it's almost certain that another attorney will handle those efforts because ineffective counsel is a typical issue for appeal.
Peterson's first appeal will be to the California Supreme Court. It is automatic under the law and often takes about eight years to be resolved. Peterson's appeals would then move through the federal appeals court system, up to the U.S. Supreme Court. If none of those efforts bears fruit, an execution date will be set. At that point, only the governor can step in to keep him alive.
But it might not get that far. A 2002 Mercury News review of California's death penalty system found that death sentences are often reversed for a range of problems, from incompetent defense lawyers to mistakes by trial judges. Since 1987, more than 80 death sentences have been overturned, including six this year.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has been particularly tough on the state's death sentences, frequently overturning cases despite the objections of the state's prosecutors, who consider the federal court too liberal. The 9th Circuit is usually the last word on the state's capital cases -- the U.S. Supreme Court has seldom intervened to spare a condemned inmate.
In the Peterson case, the initial appeal will focus on whether Geragos or Judge Alfred Delucchi made obvious errors. Legal experts who followed the trial closely didn't see glaring mistakes or decisions that were blatantly unfair to Peterson.
``I really don't think he's got much,'' Smith said. ``I think his strongest avenue is the removal of Juror No. 5.''
Smith was referring to the mysterious removal of the former Juror No. 5 -- onetime foreman Gregory Jackson -- who was kicked off the panel during guilt-phase deliberations for reasons that remain under court seal.
Improper removal of a juror is considered ``reversible error,'' Smith said, which means the verdict would have to be automatically reversed. Peterson's other possible error claims -- the inclusion of controversial dog-tracking evidence, for instance -- would probably be dismissed by higher courts as ``harmless,'' Smith said.
It's also possible that over the many years Peterson will spend on death row, the state will have abolished the death penalty, if jurors' increasing reluctance to choose it is any indication of public attitude.
A report released today by the Washington, D.C.-based Death Penalty Information Center shows that the number of people sentenced to death row has dropped by 50 percent nationwide since 1999. During that time, executions have fallen 40 percent.
In the late 1990s, California was seeing 30 to 35 death sentences per year. The rate is now in the teens, said Lance Lindsey, executive director of Death Penalty Focus, a San Francisco-based anti-death-penalty organization. The Peterson jury was the first San Mateo County jury to choose death since 1995. Prosecutors had tried -- and failed -- five times previously.
Lindsey attributed the change to the fact that capital cases have become so expensive for counties to take on -- San Mateo County's price tag is well into the millions -- that often counties won't bother. Also, increased publicity about wrongful convictions and individuals exonerated by DNA evidence has made juries more reluctant.
Some legal experts said that given these trends, as well as the facts in the Peterson case, they were especially surprised by the jury's decision.
``In a case like this, where there's no prior criminal history and a family that cares for the person, it's unheard of,'' said Oakland defense attorney and trial commentator Dan Horowitz. ``This is the least aggravated death penalty case I've ever seen.''
Delucchi will formally sentence Peterson on Feb. 25. The judge can overturn the death decision, but that's not considered likely.
Once Delucchi sentences Peterson, he will be transferred to San Quentin State Prison. And the long wait -- and the lengthy appeals process -- will begin.
The next California inmate slated to be executed is Donald Beardslee, a San Mateo double murderer who has exhausted his appeals and could be put to death as early as February. He was sentenced to die in 1984.
