California Courts Sentencing Fewer Killers to Death Row

The number of defendants sentenced to death in California is falling at its most rapid pace since the state reinstituted the death penalty 25 years ago, according to an analysis of state records.

The drop in death sentences between 1999 and 2001--from 43 to 21--came as violent crime also plummeted. But the falling crime rate explains only part of the decline in death sentences. Publicity about innocent people freed from the nation’s death rows and reluctance by prosecutors to pursue a penalty that may never be imposed have reduced the number of cases, attorneys and legal experts say.

“The D.A.s are becoming more discriminating in seeking the death penalty,” said Gary Schons, an assistant attorney general who oversees death-penalty appeals in several Southern California counties.

“They have had the benefit of having lived with this law for nearly 25 years,” Schons added. “They have also seen the tremendous cost of getting cases through the system, both in fiscal costs and the emotional costs to the survivors.”

California is home to the nation’s largest death row, with more than 600 convicted murderers awaiting execution. The state has executed nine people since reinstating capital punishment in 1977.

Although district attorneys said they have not changed their criteria for deciding whether to seek death, state records indicate a greater proportion of defendants eligible for death are receiving life in prison instead. In 1999, 19.3% of defendants convicted of capital murder received death sentences. By 2001, the number had fallen to 12.6%.

In San Diego County, for instance, none of the 27 people convicted of capital murder in 2000 and 2001 were sentenced to death.

“Some of it may be the fact that it’s so difficult to execute someone,” said San Diego County Public Defender Steven J. Carroll. “It takes so much time and money, the decision-makers may be deciding it isn’t worth it to try unless it’s a really aggravated case.”

The same pattern can be seen in other urban counties. In Los Angeles County, 15 defendants were sentenced to death in 1998--14% of those who were potential capital cases. Last year, the number of death sentences fell to seven, or 9%.

In Orange County, where seven killers were sent to death row in 1997, only one defendant received death last year--a Santa Ana gang member convicted of shooting a man in the back of the head during a street robbery. Prosecutors sought the death penalty in one other case--a Santa Ana man who intentionally drove his car onto a preschool playground and killed two children. The man’s attorneys argued he was mentally ill, and the jury recommended a sentence of life in prison without parole.

One of the state’s largest shifts has occurred in Riverside County. In 1998 and 1999, prosecutors obtained 13 death sentences out of 24 eligible cases. In 2000 and 2001, they obtained five death sentences out of 35 eligible cases, according to records.

Riverside County Dist. Atty. Grover Trask said that despite the numbers, his test for what makes a death-penalty case remains the same: Is the death penalty appropriate, given all the circumstances, and would a jury be likely to return a death verdict?

His approach has changed through the years. For instance, Trask said he has learned that juries in his county are less likely to return death verdicts when the defendant is young or the crime is committed among family members.

“We understand the costs and other issues. We obviously do not want to go forward on cases where there’s no reasonable likelihood a jury will return a verdict of death,” Trask said.

California’s experience mirrors a national trend. The 214 death sentences imposed in the United States in 2000 were the lowest since 1980, according to a U.S. Justice Department report.

The drop in death sentences in California corresponds with a big fall in murders across the state. The number of homicides in California dropped from 3,876 in 1992 to 2,074 in 2001.

The declines also come as the death penalty is under increased scrutiny. There have been highly publicized reports of wrongly convicted inmates freed from death rows and allegations of racial bias in application of the death penalty. Illinois and Maryland imposed moratoriums on capital punishment. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed eight California death sentences since November.

Several polls have found that support for the death penalty in California and the nation is declining, although a majority still supports it. A 2000 Field Poll found that most Californians would support a moratorium on the death penalty until its fairness is studied further.

Although the death penalty might not be as popular as it once was, prosecutors point to other factors as reasons for the declining numbers. Many gang leaders who caused the spike in homicides in the early 1990s are behind bars, resulting in fewer of the killings that could warrant the death penalty.

“There’s public sentiment moving away from the death penalty ... but that’s not the big factor,” said Santa Clara County Dist. Atty. George Kennedy, whose office obtained just one death sentence in the last three years. “We’ve been lucky during that time period not to have the kinds of cases that jurors will return death on.”

District attorneys in many counties--Los Angeles, Riverside and Orange among them--have established committees of veteran prosecutors to help decide whether to pursue death sentences. They review available evidence and invite comment from defense lawyers before making the choice.

Carroll, the San Diego public defender, said his attorneys start investigating the backgrounds of murder defendants as soon as possible--exploring a defendant’s family history and psychological background--so they can make a powerful argument against the death penalty to San Diego County Dist Atty. Paul Pfingst.

“We don’t go in and try to prove our client innocent to the D.A. What we try to do is convince him a death decision is not appropriate,” Carroll said. “We’ve had tremendous luck in doing it. So we’ve had much fewer death cases going through.”

Times staff writers Ray F. Herndon and Doug Smith contributed to this report.