We have people on Death Row, many over 20 years and some about to reach their 30 year anniversary. One reason is that the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals opposes the death penalty. This is the third time the US Supreme Court has overturned this one case. You should know that the 9th Circuit is the most over turned Court in the nation.
Why did the 9th try to kill the death penalty? The murderer did not have a great childhood. "In a unanimous opinion, the justices rejected the notion that the defendant's rights were violated by his lawyer's "ineffective assistance of counsel." The appeals court ruled that the lawyer had failed to stress that Fernando Belmontes had had a very difficult childhood.
However, the justices said such testimony would not likely have swayed the jury to spare Belmontes. They also said they "simply cannot comprehend the assertion by the Court of Appeals that this case did not involve 'needless suffering.' " The victim, Steacy McConnell, had "her skull crushed by 15 to 20 blows from a steel dumbbell bar" at the hands of Fernando Belmontes, the defendant. She fought "a desperate struggle for life" but died hours later, the court said."
This is why killers laugh at the California death penalty. This is why victims and their families do not get justice. ACLU judges on the courts prefer criminals to victims.
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Why did the 9th try to kill the death penalty? The murderer did not have a great childhood. "In a unanimous opinion, the justices rejected the notion that the defendant's rights were violated by his lawyer's "ineffective assistance of counsel." The appeals court ruled that the lawyer had failed to stress that Fernando Belmontes had had a very difficult childhood.
However, the justices said such testimony would not likely have swayed the jury to spare Belmontes. They also said they "simply cannot comprehend the assertion by the Court of Appeals that this case did not involve 'needless suffering.' " The victim, Steacy McConnell, had "her skull crushed by 15 to 20 blows from a steel dumbbell bar" at the hands of Fernando Belmontes, the defendant. She fought "a desperate struggle for life" but died hours later, the court said."
This is why killers laugh at the California death penalty. This is why victims and their families do not get justice. ACLU judges on the courts prefer criminals to victims.
More...