Posted on 02/04/2019 1:39:09 PM PST by onyx
(KGTV) - The California Supreme Court Monday upheld the conviction and death sentence for David Westerfield, the man found guilty of killing 7-year-old Danielle van Dam in 2002.
Young Danielle was reported missing from her Sabre Springs home on Feb. 2, 2002, and her disappearance led to a search that spanned all of San Diego County.
Investigators gathered enough evidence to arrest Westerfield, a neighbor of Danielle and her family, for her disappearance and death on Feb. 22.
Five days later, Danielle’s badly decomposed body was found along Dehesa Road in Harbison Canyon.
In August 2002, Westerfield was found guilty of first-degree murder, kidnapping and child porn possession. He was sentenced to death and is currently on death row at San Quentin State Prison in Northern California.
On Monday, the court ruled that Westerfield’s sentence will remain despite his legal team’s request for a new trial and opposition to the state’s death penalty law.
Westerfield's legal team can ask that the U.S. Supreme Court review the state court's decision.
(Excerpt) Read more at 10news.com ...
Exactly!
I read that, too.
Defense lawyers have twisted the law beyond recognition.
I concur!
I’d rather sentence them to a LIFE of HARD LABOR WITHOUT PAROLE in ALASKA.
Almost 20 years and the killer is STILL alive?
They found her near my old place in cali.
Still remember mom was drinking crandberry vodaks and she still got no grief for that.
>>California has no death penalty because the appeals will go on for ever and no governor will ever permit the death on his watch
Then California should drop the charade and release this pedo into the general prison population. No reason to keep him isolated on death row.
2 years?? Pffft...
In 1932 an assassin tried to shoot president-elect Franklin Roosevelt in Florida, he failed, though he wounded Chicago mayor Tony Cermak. Halfway through the trial Cermak died, so they switched midstream to a murder trial. The perp was apprehended, arraigned, tried, convicted and executed in 32 days. I doubt they would be past the press conference these days.
He should have claimed to be an undocumented American, transgendered, or a jihadist -- the leftist judge would have reversed the conviction..
I remember that there were MANY Threads on FR as to whether there was enough evidence to convict Westerfield before the body was found.
The prosecutor and Westerfield were very close to a plea deal for life imprisonment in exchange for information on the location of the body, but that went away when they found the body.
At Trial, Westerfield’s attorney wasn’t actually very aggressive in defending him. Also learned a lot more about botflys than I needed to know.
The death sentence, as applied today, is a hollow joke.
It is hollow for many reasons.
Chief among them is the likelihood of killing an innocent person.
Death sentence without parole, along with limited appeals, is the way to go.
What opposition? WHY?
No one has been executed in Calif in over 35 years.
Especially when DNA and other forensic evidence has nailed, without a doubt, the perp. Then the appeals should be cut short.
Ironic that they will kill with no remorse, but fight like Hell to preserve their own worthless lives.
My writing abilities did not serve me well.
The potential innocent person I refereed to was the person on death row.
And, I meant Life Sentence. Not Death. Death cannot be undone.
Lots of forensic evidence, to include DNA, is over stated or just plain junk science.
The folks that brought you global warming also bring you blood spatter analysis, bite mark analysis, and hair analysis.
Thank you for posting this. I actually read the original in the way that you meant it - and I agree completely.
It’s been tried. Look up Rose Bird.
I know a liberal couple who always thought Westerfield was innocent! Hard to believe, but true. They took up for him all through the trial. When I informed them that Westerfield was getting ready to CONFESS to the murder, but they found the body of that precious little girl, he didn’t confess. But he had already let the officials know he was guilty. He is EVIL!
How could a liberal couple think him innocent? Let’s see. Danielle was kidnapped from her bed, but there’s no evidence he was ever in her home. Her body was dumped in a meadow, but there’s no evidence he was ever there either, or even knew that this hidden dump site even existed. The scientific evidence (forensic entomology) was that she died in the middle of the month, whereas he was under constant police surveillance from the 4th. Guilty beyond a reasonable doubt? I’d say innocent beyond a reasonable doubt.
He was ready to confess? That’s what the DA said at the time. But, years later, once everybody had been persuaded by that of Westerfied’s guilt, he (the DA) changed his story: it was the prosecution which wanted the deal.
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