Posted on 03/11/2006 2:39:39 PM PST by Former Military Chick
SANTA ANA, Calif. - Federal prosecutors bent on taking down the violent Aryan Brotherhood prison gang could be hard-pressed to win the death sentences they want in one of the largest capital punishment cases in U.S. history, legal experts said.
Several unusual elements are in play in the case set to begin this week involving 32 murders and attempted murders allegedly orchestrated by leaders of the white supremacist gang.
Many of the 16 defendants who could face the death penalty are already serving long prison terms, and nearly all of their alleged victims were other inmates convicted of violent felonies.
Given the circumstances, jurors could be satisfied with a sentence of life without parole if the men are convicted, said William McGuigan, a defense attorney who has worked on cases targeting members of the Mexican Mafia.
"Typically, these guys have enough priors that they could convict them of possessing a shank or a gram of heroin, and they would be imprisoned for the rest of their lives," McGuigan said.
"The dynamics could not be as good for prosecutors as they think they are," he said.
Authorities arrested 40 Aryan Brotherhood members in 2002 after a six-year investigation intended to dismantle the gang's leadership under a federal racketeering law originally passed to target Mafia leaders.
Crimes detailed in the indictment span 30 years and occurred in prisons around the nation.
Nineteen defendants reached plea deals and one has died. Opening statements in the first of several trials involving remaining suspects are scheduled for Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana.
Prosecutors declined to be interviewed, but defense attorneys said most of the case will be built on testimony from jailhouse informants.
Michael Radelet, a sociology professor and death penalty expert at the University of Colorado, Boulder, said juries are less likely to vote for death if they know a defendant is already serving a life sentence.
That's the case with many of the Aryan Brotherhood defendants.
Barry "The Baron" Mills, a lead defendant, is serving two life terms for murder after nearly decapitating an inmate in 1979. In the upcoming trial, he faces a possible death sentence for allegedly orchestrating the 1997 murders of two black inmates serving time for rape at a prison in Lewisburg, Pa. Mills has pleaded not guilty.
"If the person is already doing a life term and is having problems in prison, that in some ways shows a failure of the criminal justice system," Radelet said. "The fact that justice systems are imperfect is an anti-death penalty argument, it's not a pro-death penalty argument."
Radelet also questioned whether a death sentence for the gang ringleaders would serve as a deterrent for aspiring members, as prosecutors hope.
"A fair number of people doing life without parole would prefer death," he said. "When people get executed, they become heroes" to other inmates.
Laurie Levenson, a law professor at Loyola Marymount University and a former federal prosecutor, said it's also difficult for prosecutors to win death penalties when victims were serving time for violent crimes.
A case built around jailhouse informants can compound the problem, she said.
"It's a much dirtier case when you have to use informants," Levenson said. "It really comes down to how you use your informants. If the jurors hate the informant, they're not going to vote for the death penalty."
Attorneys for the defendants echo those warnings and point to a related Aryan Brotherhood case that all but fell apart.
The seven-month trial of David Michael Sahakian and two others ended in 2004 with a hung jury on charges of murder and conspiracy, said attorney Dean Steward, who represents Mills.
Some jurors said they found the jailhouse informants who testified to be disgusting but called the defendants "charming and truthful," according to Steward.
Sahakian will be retried as part of the racketeering case.
If you break the law inside/outside of prison you should be held accountable. Frankly, 16 defendants shows this isn't a small time trial. More importantly we are dealing with the Aryan Brotherhood one of the most violent of groups inside/outside of prison.
Just blowing of some steam on this one, I have to believe a jury will side with the prosecutors and do the right thing.
PING
Wow, got a point. Perhaps they feel their lives are to important than getting involved in this one. Of course give it time, maybe it will get more media attention and than they will start spouting off.
This is NO small time arrest, I think those prosecuting need to give the potential juror's credit that they will ensure justice is done.
Thanks for the comment.
"If the person is already doing a life term and is having problems in prison, that in some ways shows a failure of the criminal justice system"
That's right, if someone who MURDERED SOMEONE IN SOCIETY gets jailed and then MURDERS SOMEONE IN JAIL then it's OUR FAULT!!!!
These loony libs should do standup comedy.
Sounds like this guy has been doing a good job of reducing the prison population by offing inmates that should've been executed anyway. I give this one a "thumbs up".
The prison "justice system" is sometimes the only hope any more for some victims family to get any justice at all. At least in anti-death penalty states.
As long as they're killing each other, seems to me they are saving the state a lot of money..
I say, toss 'em in one big room, and throw in a couple dozen "shivs"...
Wouldn't scarce funds be better spent putting more violent people in prison than carrying out a hate crime vendetta against those already in Prison?
This vendetta has absolutely no value to society outside prison. It's only a notch on the prosecutors belt, his resume. And we pay for it.
Agreed, but if the death penalty is off the table, incarceration of the most violent (and all child abusers) should consist of exile to a rock somewhere in the Aleutians. Drop them off with a couple of changes of clothing, a knife and a blanket. Mother nature and their own nature will take care of them.
Much less costly, too.
Hang 'em high!
I don't recall RICO ever being used against a minority gang or group of individuals. They use it against right to life groups and these guys, but not MS-13.
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