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Friday, May 31st:
*Judge’s Decision Due (@ am PT) – CA - *Polly Hannah Klaas (12) Polly & two friends were having a slumber party. Around 10:30pm, Oct. 1, 1993 an intoxicated Davis entered her bedroom, carrying a knife from Eve Nichol's kitchen. He told the girls he was there to do no harm & was only there for money. Davis tied up both of her friends, pulled pillowcases over their heads & told them to count to 1,000. He then kidnapped Klaas. Petaluma. Polly found Dec. 4 1993. *Richard Allen Davis (39 @ time of crime/now 69) was convicted on 6/1996 of first-degree murder with four special circumstances (robbery, burglary, kidnapping & attempted lewd act on a child) in Klaas's death. A San Jose Superior Court jury returned a verdict of death. At his formal sentencing, Davis provoked national outrage by taunting his victim's family, extending both middle fingers at a courtroom camera & later saying that Klaas's last words just before he killed her implied that her father molested her. Judge Thomas Hastings then formally sentenced Davis to death, telling Davis that his conduct in the courtroom made the decision to pass the death sentence significantly easier. Davis has been on death row since 1996. As of January 2024, he remains on California's death row in the Adjustment Center at San Quentin State Prison. Sonoma County
Appeal: On 6/1/99 the California Supreme Court upheld Davis' death sentence. Davis had argued that his jailhouse confession was inadmissible because it was given without an attorney present. The court ruled this was justified by the public safety exception to Miranda v. Arizona. His lawyer, Phillip Cherney, told reporters he intended to ask for a rehearing & that he would be lodging a habeas corpus appeal with state & federal courts.
For more info reference link:
https://www.websleuths.com/forums/t...eath-sentence-overturned-april-4-2024.709224/
4/5/24 Update: Davis’ lawyers argue that a recent criminal justice reform law that invalidated certain sentencing enhancements entitles Davis to have his sentence reconsidered. Sonoma County prosecutors & Polly’s father, Marc Klaas, who became a crime victim advocate after her murder, disagree. Lawyers for Davis argued in a February court filing that the law that took effect in 2022 invalidates Davis’ sentencing enhancements for four prior serious felony convictions & three previous prison terms & entitles him to a full resentencing. But prosecutors with the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office argue that the law doesn’t apply to his death sentence for Polly’s murder & would affect only two years worth of his prison sentence on other charges related to the crime. Judge Benjamin Williams said he plans to issue a ruling on 5/31/24.
*Judge’s Decision Due (@ am PT) – CA - *Polly Hannah Klaas (12) Polly & two friends were having a slumber party. Around 10:30pm, Oct. 1, 1993 an intoxicated Davis entered her bedroom, carrying a knife from Eve Nichol's kitchen. He told the girls he was there to do no harm & was only there for money. Davis tied up both of her friends, pulled pillowcases over their heads & told them to count to 1,000. He then kidnapped Klaas. Petaluma. Polly found Dec. 4 1993. *Richard Allen Davis (39 @ time of crime/now 69) was convicted on 6/1996 of first-degree murder with four special circumstances (robbery, burglary, kidnapping & attempted lewd act on a child) in Klaas's death. A San Jose Superior Court jury returned a verdict of death. At his formal sentencing, Davis provoked national outrage by taunting his victim's family, extending both middle fingers at a courtroom camera & later saying that Klaas's last words just before he killed her implied that her father molested her. Judge Thomas Hastings then formally sentenced Davis to death, telling Davis that his conduct in the courtroom made the decision to pass the death sentence significantly easier. Davis has been on death row since 1996. As of January 2024, he remains on California's death row in the Adjustment Center at San Quentin State Prison. Sonoma County
Appeal: On 6/1/99 the California Supreme Court upheld Davis' death sentence. Davis had argued that his jailhouse confession was inadmissible because it was given without an attorney present. The court ruled this was justified by the public safety exception to Miranda v. Arizona. His lawyer, Phillip Cherney, told reporters he intended to ask for a rehearing & that he would be lodging a habeas corpus appeal with state & federal courts.
For more info reference link:
https://www.websleuths.com/forums/t...eath-sentence-overturned-april-4-2024.709224/
4/5/24 Update: Davis’ lawyers argue that a recent criminal justice reform law that invalidated certain sentencing enhancements entitles Davis to have his sentence reconsidered. Sonoma County prosecutors & Polly’s father, Marc Klaas, who became a crime victim advocate after her murder, disagree. Lawyers for Davis argued in a February court filing that the law that took effect in 2022 invalidates Davis’ sentencing enhancements for four prior serious felony convictions & three previous prison terms & entitles him to a full resentencing. But prosecutors with the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office argue that the law doesn’t apply to his death sentence for Polly’s murder & would affect only two years worth of his prison sentence on other charges related to the crime. Judge Benjamin Williams said he plans to issue a ruling on 5/31/24.
