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BLUE LIVES MATTER

of first degree murder with special circumstances. If the defendant is
found guilty of first degree murder and a special circumstance has been
found true, then the second phase, or penalty phase, involves determining
whether the death penalty or life without the possibility of parole should
be imposed.
Whether to seek the death penalty in an appropriate case is one of the
most difficult decisions that a district attorney’s office must make. The Los
Angeles County District Attorney’s Office has a Special Circumstances
Committee chaired by a top executive in the office who determines the cas-
es in which the death penalty will be sought. After the preliminary hearing
has been completed in a murder case in which special circumstances are
alleged, the prosecutor assigned to the case prepares a lengthy Capital Case
Memorandum and makes a presentation to the Special Circumstances
Committee. The defense attorney may submit materials to the committee
in mitigation of punishment. The committee then determines the penalty
that will be sought.
Between January 1, 2001 and January 1, 2011, the Special Circumstances
Committee considered a total of 1,213 defendants for penalty recommenda-
tions. The committee selected death for 146 defendants. Of these, 62 received
death, 59 received life without parole or less (either due to a verdict or through
a change of the People’s recommendation), while 25 were still pending.
My personal view is that I generally favor the death penalty in cases
involving multiple murders including sexually motivated murders, mur-
der of a child, murder of a public official (including a peace officer), and
murders that are especially cruel and depraved.
This preference for the death penalty for the murder of peace officers
in the performance of his or her duties is reflected in the seven chapters in
this book involving the murder of a police officer. In four of the chapters,
the jury voted for the death penalty for the defendant. In Chapter One,
the death penalty statute at the time of the crime no longer existed when
the case went to trial. In Chapter Five, the defendants did not know that
the murder victim was a police officer; and, in Chapter Six, an extradition
treaty precluded the seeking of the death penalty.
Despite the number of cop killers on death row in California, none
of them has been executed since the death penalty was reinstated in
California in 1978.

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