Gascón makes exception to death penalty ban for “boy next door” killer

L A Times ^ | 02/05/2021 | JAMES QUEALLY

[BenLurkin]

When he took office last year, Gascón enacted a number of sweeping policy changes, including directives that barred prosecutors from seeking the death penalty or making use of the sentencing enhancements state law allows in certain types of cases that can significantly increase the time someone spends in prison.

Gascon’s decision to relent has little practical impact on the case because Gov. Gavin Newsom placed a moratorium on executions in California in 2019.

Nonetheless, Gargiulo’s defense attorney Dale Rubin said Gascón’s move violates his client’s constitutional rights, since the district attorney’s office has taken the death penalty off the table in other murder cases in recent weeks.

The double standard, Rubin said, runs afoul of the equal protection clause in the Constitution.

Gargiulo’s defense attorneys have argued he suffers from severe mental illness after a childhood marked by abuse and neglect, and said he was in a “fugue state” that left him unable to remember anything during the attacks. Jurors, however, determined he was sane at the time of the crimes.

[monkeyshine]

This DA is headed for the exits. He never should have put no bail release on acts of violence.

[euram]

that’s because this murderer is white. If he was black or other minority he wouldn’t be going for the death penalty.

[Mr. Blond]

I was just checking the killer’s name...