WTF? Anti-death penalty DA allowed to stay on cop killer case?

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - WTF? Anti-death penalty DA allowed to stay on cop killer case?

Posted: 4/27/2004 7:40:38 AM EDT

Didn't know if any of y'all had seen this shit... She seems more concerned that an "assault weapon" was used that the fact that a cop got killed (and I never thought I'd agree with Feinstein on ANYTHING!

) . Just when you think the "left coast" is wacky enough

... I feel for our brothers and sisters out there, folks.

From the SF Examiner:

San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris is standing by her decision to not press for a death penalty conviction for David Hill, the man accused of gunning down police Officer Isaac Espinoza with an AK-47 last Saturday night, despite mounting pressure from U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein and rank-and-file police.

Feinstein used her eulogy at Espinoza's funeral Friday to push for the young cop's slaying to be prosecuted as a "special circumstances" case, seeking the death penalty and for the passage of congressional legislation that would ban assault weapons.

Her appeal for the death penalty was met with a standing ovation from hundreds of mourners inside the packed St. Mary's Cathedral on Gough Street.

It came after a difficult week, during which Police Officers Association President Gary Delagnes called for the death penalty while adding that he understood that a liberal San Francisco jury was unlikely to grant it.

In his eulogy Friday, Delagnes said he hoped Espinoza's alleged killer would pay "the ultimate sacrifice," and outside the funeral, rank-and-file cops echoed the sentiment.

"Ask police officers from anywhere else around the state and they would support us. We really should see the death penalty," one officer said.

Harris said last week that she would seek a life term sentence with special circumstances for Hill. The special circumstances relate to the fact that an assault weapon was used in the commission of the crime.

While the death penalty is widely charged across California in cases were police officers are killed, Harris is standing firm, in an interesting test that came as she completed her first 100 days in office on Friday.

Harris, who campaigned on an anti-death penalty platform, could not be reached for comment.

DA spokesperson Debbie Mesloh said that Harris had some very practical reasons for not charging the death penalty, borne out of her prior experience as an assistant district attorney at the Alameda County District Attorney's Office.

"It's very expensive, it does not bring closure for the victims' families because the review appeals process kicks in," Mesloh added. "Life without parole has a limited appeals process."

Mesloh added that Harris had concerns that the death penalty was not a flawless process, since people on death row have been proven innocent.

"She understands that it's natural for people to call for an eye for an eye, especially in this type of tragedy when an officer is protecting his neighborhood," Mesloh said. "She's seeking tough justice, and in San Francisco, the toughest justice we are going to get is life without parole."

Posted: 5/10/2004 2:54:55 AM EDT

[#1]

Contact Bill Orielly or John Kasich with this. Kasich seems to be very pro cop. He ran a great story about an incident involving a bullshit ruling involving a K9 bite.

Posted: 5/10/2004 7:31:51 AM EDT

[#2]

2 words... SAN FRANCISCO

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - WTF? Anti-death penalty DA allowed to stay on cop killer case?

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