Death Penalty Reinstated for Van Nuys Man Convicted of Murder
The United States Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty for a man from Van Nuys, CA, who was convicted of murdering two men in 1981 in a drug deal in Tarzana that went wrong, according to The L.A. Times.
As a child, the man suffered severe brain trauma on several occasions. His mother struck him with her car when he was only two, and about a year later he hit his head on a windshield during a car accident. When he was 10, he began having serious behavioral issues, and a year later was sent to a mental institution. At 18, he was in a local jail and beaten so badly he began suffering seizures.
The man was convicted of murder for the 1982 killings in 1984. At trial, no evidence was introduced of his brain damage as a child or his mental disorders. The only witness on his behalf was his mother, who testified he behaved nicely at home. The man appealed to a federal court, and his death sentence was reversed in the 1990s after the court heard testimony regarding his brain damage. The case was then sent to the Supreme Court, who recently ruled that the federal court should not have heard the new testimony on brain damage, and that it should not have reversed the state court’s conviction.
This decision by the Supreme Court displays how vitally important it is to receive excellent criminal representation if you are ever charged with a crime. It is a very long uphill battle to get a criminal conviction overturned, and reversals only occur in very rare circumstances.
Have you been accused of a crime in the Los Angeles area? If so, call the experienced Los Angeles criminal defense lawyers at the Law Offices of Lawrence Wolf at 866-390-7373. We will work hard to make sure your legal rights are protected.
