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"After 18 years, a serial killer's day in court arrives"

By Douglas A. Berman

The title of this post is the headline of this sad and telling story from the Oakland Tribune, which highlights some of the dysfunction aspects of California's death penalty system.  Here is how the piece begins: The "Day Stalker" serial killer who preyed on elderly women and terrorized the East Bay in the summer of 1987 will appear before the California Supreme Court this week to plead for his life ? 18 years after his death sentence. As long a time as that may seem, it's neither an extreme in California's logjammed capital punishment system, nor much more than a first step. But it has been a long time to wait for the families of the three women ? Pearl Larson, 76; Adeline Figuerido, 89; and Anna Constantine, 73 ? since Franklin Lynch was convicted of murdering while robbing their San Leandro homes in the summer of 1987...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on May 22, 2010 (boomark / email).