...With little attention or fanfare, Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos is seeking the death penalty against Jason Anthony Warren in a case scheduled to go to trial in May. If a jury ultimately convicts and condemns Warren, it would be the first time Humboldt has sent someone to death row in nearly 25 years....
The 29-year-old, who has a violent history, stands accused of torturing and killing a Hoopa woman, Dorothy Ulrich, on the morning of Sept. 26, 2012 before taking a car from her residence and driving to Eureka, where he allegedly intentionally hit three runners, killing Suzanne Seemann and seriously injuring Jessica Hunt and Terri Vroman-Little. A gag order was issued in the case shortly after Warren was charged, preventing officials from speaking publicly about the case. Consequently, Gallegos has been unable to explain his rationale for pursuing the death penalty for the first time in his tenure as DA....
During the first debate in the race to replace Gallegos next year, the four candidates — Allan Dollison, Elan Firpo, Maggie Fleming and Arnie Klein — were asked for their thoughts on the death penalty.
Dollison, a former deputy district attorney and a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve, said he supports capital punishment in limited cases. "It should be on the table," he said. Fleming, also a former deputy district attorney now working in County Counsel's office, generally agreed, saying it's a "most-extraordinary punishment" that should be reserved for certain cases. Fleming noted that, in her decades as a prosecutor, she never once felt it was appropriate for a case she was handling.
On the other end of the spectrum, Firpo said plainly she's against capital punishment. "I don't think civilized societies kill people for killing people," she said. "It just doesn't make sense." Klein, who has a 40-year history in criminal law including 20 years as a prosecutor, offered a scattershot answer. First, he said he used to believe in the punishment, noting he was a young prosecutor who felt he had God on his side and believed cops never lied. But, Klein said, he's "evolved" and now prefers pursuing a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. He also noted that in California, "we don't really have a death penalty, so seeking one doesn't make sense."
...Thad explained that the decision to seek the death penalty against Warren was not a recent one and that Paul made that call a while ago, Thad thinks possibly even before the preliminary hearing. There is a gag order in the case and Thad mentioned since not all reporters can show up for every hearing, not all of us may know about the gag order. This is true, I have seen that myself. One of the reasons I chose to go to every hearing in a case I cover.What is the Death Penalty Policy?
Thad wanted to stress Paul did not release this information to him....
There is a death penalty policy that the Humboldt County District Attorney's office has and due to space, Thad could not include it in the story. While he shared it with me, I did not get it from Paul nor does it have a date so Paul how do you come to these decisions involving a person's life?
So much time has gone by, and only now this comes out. Do we have the manpower or the resources for this case? Does he have time to try this between now and December? Remember, he leaves in January. This case will end up dropped in the lap of the incoming DA - another f-up for them to deal with. IMO
Gee Whiz, amazing timing
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteReading the Greenson and Chiv pieces, it would appear that the court file contains notice of the intent to seek the death penalty. Chiv, in his usual coy indirect way that suggests he is oh so clever, says, after congratulating himself and Thad on how mutually wonderful they are
ReplyDelete"Thad wanted to stress Paul did not release this information to him. Thad explained to me how he obtained the information. I too have obtained that information in a similar manner. A reporter covering a court beat and one knowledgeable about court procedures and legal research can find this information in a proper way without talking to any attorney connected with the case".
Which pretty much has to mean "we looked at the file" but Chiv, just can't bring themselves to say what he and Thad did because--then they might not look so special. It's not clear why Greenson is so indirect, why he can't clarify the basis for his report.
If the defense got notice before the prelim and had time to get qualified DP lawyers, request daily transcripts, get their two investigators, etc etc, the case will more or less proceed on schedule (whatever that may mean). But if TG and JC are suggesting that PVG was planning the death penalty before the prelim, and did not give the defense notice prior to prelim, a judge might well seriously consider throwing the information out, and forcing a start over.
Anonymous, you are back.
ReplyDeleteAs John Chiv also wrote,what have you done that is ever positive for anyone else?
You troll the blogs, you attack John Chiv, now you have dragged Thaddeus Greenson and Paul Gallegos into your imaginary world of hate for reasons in your fantasy world.
Looking at a file is not the only way to find out and it is you who want to show how special you are.
People who suffer from narcissism are really insecure and pathetic people powerless over every thing.
Since you like to make up imaginary assertions, let us try that with you. 1) You are either someone who hates an aspect of yourself so much that you have to attack others because you do not have the balls to actually work on your self-esteem and issues 2)You are a failure at every thing you do and because your hate eventually even your few friends abandon you 3) you want to be a lawyer or own a business or just get away with abusing others and cannot earn any money on your own and live off someone else 4)you are a man or woman with deep hatred of men, particularly against John Chiv because he may have called you out on his blog or in person and you are a coward that posts on blogs instead of moving on with your life and making a difference.
Look, if Chiv and Greenson want to claim the case is going death penalty, that's serious business and they ought to state with specificity and clarity the basis for the claim. Why should pointing that out upset anyone? And if reporters go all coy and special about themselves, that too should be pointed out. Deal with it.
ReplyDeleteI think all the anonymous comments above should deal with their issues offline.
DeleteYes I posted anonymously about anonymous people, deal with it!
Now to the topic at hand. Paul Gallegos is seeking the death penalty in California. Two people who use their names and Rose who uses her name bring up valid points.
Let us discuss the topic of this post. Deal with it!
There's nothing ambiguous about the statement, "Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos is seeking the death penalty against Jason Anthony Warren."
ReplyDelete"A gag order was issued in the case shortly after Warren was charged, preventing officials from speaking publicly about the case. Consequently, Gallegos has been unable to explain his rationale for pursuing the death penalty for the first time in his tenure as DA..."
It's a little odd to trot it out in a story about the candidates, rather than directly, maybe.
Hard to deal with it if all there is is unsubstantiated, unverifiable, undocumented claims by journalists who do not describe the basis for their claims but make vague comments like " one knowledgeable about court procedures and legal research can find this information in a proper way without talking to any attorney connected with the case". So describe this "proper way" so people can check as to when the decision was made and communicated to the court and the defense. Otherwise, it's all just secret handshake nonsense.
ReplyDeleteNope, thats not me thats a whole other troll. But, thanks for thinking of me. Your psych eval was a little off but ill let that slide.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous no journalist is required to reveal their source. A gag order prohibits someone from viewing a file. Both of you have a personal stake in this and a personal issue it seems against Chiv.
ReplyDeleteNiether of you are lawyers or journalists. Anonymous commenters have no rights or credibility. Even if you were to sign in under your name, you are not obligated to an explaination.
I have read Rose's blog for a long time. I have started reading Chiv's blog. I think if your cage is being rattled you are being exposed or you have a financial stake in something he exposed.
Anonymous the psychological evaluation seems correct. You are personally attacking and your buttons are easy to push.
There is no secret handshake. Information on a case that is available to the public can be accessed on the public computers.
ReplyDeleteIf Chiv did not want to reveal that so what?
Grow up and since you admit you are trolling, quit. I am fed up reading these rants by some idiot about someone else.