Mass Shooter....Spared Death Penalty as Judge Rules on Fallout From O.C. Jail Informant Scandal

ktla ^ | August 18, 2017 | Los Angeles Times and Chip Yost

[BenLurkin]

The so-called snitch scandal has led to the retrial of several convicted killers, sparked criticism of Orange County Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas and Sheriff Sandra Hutchens and led to a federal investigation.

The county’s beleaguered law enforcement leaders received their most stinging rebuke yet on Friday, when Superior Court Judge Thomas Goethals blocked prosecutors from pursuing the death penalty against a man who confessed to slaughtering eight people in a Seal Beach salon, ruling that the county’s mishandling of information regarding informants would prevent a fair trial.

[BookmanTheJanitor]

what death penalty?

[Tucker39]

Goethals. That’s a lot like Goebbels. See? I can play that “guilt by contrived association” game, too.

[smokingfrog]

http://www.ocweekly.com/news/long-buried-record-contradicts-orange-county-sheriff-sandra-hutchens-in-snitch-scandal-8338377

[hanamizu]

To be honest, this is one reason why OJ got acquitted. LA cops had been planting evidence for years and this was widely known or at least suspected in the LA black community. The scandal caused a lot of bad people being released from prison/jail and millions of taxpayers’ money for settlements. The “good guys”, the police and prosecutors, have to play by the rules or we all get to suffer with these kinds of results.

[Gay State Conservative]

OK...so move the trial out of Orange County.Problem solved.

[Deo volente]

what death penalty?

Exactly! There are men on Death Row in California that have been there for 30 years and they're not even close to an execution date. In fact, their appeals process has barely begun. They will almost certainly die of old age before their day with the needle.
It's a monumental scandal, but what's to be done? The leftists are in charge of the state and they won't countenance the death penalty for any reason. There are all sorts of ways to grind the wheel of justice to a full stop.

[AnotherUnixGeek]

Superior Court Judge Thomas Goethals blocked prosecutors from pursuing the death penalty against a man who confessed to slaughtering eight people in a Seal Beach salon, ruling that the county’s mishandling of information regarding informants would prevent a fair trial.

Don't blame the judge - the fault here lies with the police for mishandling information and prosecutors for proceeding with cases based on mishandled information. Law-abiding citizens could be charged with crimes they didn't commit and sent to prison based on mishandled information.

[SoCal Pubbie]

They mishandled the killer’s confession?