Latest news with #prosecutorialmisconduct
Associated Press
4 days ago
- General
- Associated Press
New district attorney in California county withdraws from historic death penalty resentencing
Alameda County's new district attorney is rejecting her predecessor's recommendations to resentence people on death row — recommendations triggered by a historic review of systemic prosecutorial misconduct. Records obtained by CalMatters show at least four cases in which District Attorney Ursula Jones Dickson has moved to withdraw resentencing motions filed under Pamela Price, who was recalled from office in November. Price launched the review roughly one year ago, after U.S. District Court Judge Vince Chhabria mandated that her office investigate 35 death penalty cases for prosecutorial misconduct dating back to the 1980s. His order cited 'strong evidence that, in prior decades, prosecutors from the office were engaged in a pattern of serious misconduct, automatically excluding Jewish and African American jurors in death penalty cases.' Price ultimately recommended resentencing 30 people, the majority people of color, after finding that their constitutional rights had been violated. Of those, 20 people have had their day in court and were resentenced to terms less than death under Alameda County Superior Court Judge Thomas Stevens. But that effort came to a halt when Price was ousted. Her resentencing team was disbanded, according to court records and interviews with former staffers. And the 10 resentencing recommendations awaiting a ruling were reassigned to Alameda County Superior Court Judge Armando Pastran, a former prosecutor. The Alameda County Board of Supervisors appointed Jones Dickson, a former judge, to her post in February. Her office began filing motions to withdraw recommendations less than two months later, contending that Price and her team made flawed legal arguments and failed to sufficiently contact victims and their family members. The 'motion is based on a substantive reevaluation of the facts of the case, legal analysis…consideration of petitioner's prior crimes, and new information about the victims' wishes,' wrote deputy district attorney Emily Tienken in one of the filings. The decision to reverse course signals one of the first major policy changes the office has adopted since Price's departure. 'It's absolutely disgraceful,' said Michael Collins, senior director at Color of Change, a racial justice organization that called on the Attorney General's Office to support Price's review and launch its own investigation. 'It's scandalous that this has happened and now they're trying to bury the cases. The people whose lives were destroyed — the people who were given unconstitutional trials are not getting any indemnification.' In an interview with CalMatters, Price said her office was looking to achieve justice and it was not driven by politics. 'It was very disturbing,' said Price. 'If this is the practice and you're doing it in these types of cases, what's to say you're not doing it in other types of cases as well? So our concern was that we had a huge task ahead of us.' The Alameda County District Attorney's Office did not respond to requests for an interview for this story. At a press conference marking her first 100 days in office, Jones Dickson on Thursday did not directly answer a question about her stance on the death penalty cases. 'I don't have a plan to specifically review any death penalty cases that are pending,' she said. 'We are already in the midst of doing that. It looks like the prior administration started that process and so there are cases that are still pending that we're reviewing and evaluating and filing motions on and doing the things that lawyers do. But I don't have a policy at this point regarding choosing cases to pull for resentencing.' Jonathan Raven, an executive at the California District Attorneys Association, said not every district attorney is going to agree on a specific case. 'Any district attorney is always going to review policies and practices, and review the decisions of the prior district attorney, which I think is what the voters would want – or certainly, the board of supervisors,' he said. Disparities in death penalty sentences Decades of research has documented racial bias in the application of the death penalty. In a brief submitted to the California Supreme Court challenging the administration of the state's death penalty scheme, legal advocacy organizations wrote that Black and Latino defendants are roughly six to nine times more likely to be sentenced to death than all other defendants. Gov. Gavin Newsom cited that legacy when he suspended the death penalty in California six years ago. But voters have consistently upheld the death penalty as a policy, and almost 600 people incarcerated in state prisons have been sentenced to death. Allegations of racially discriminatory jury selection practices in Alameda County were first raised in 2005 by a former prosecutor in a sworn declaration. Roughly 20 years later, Price announced that her office had uncovered evidence of those violations. Jury selection notes disclosed by Price's office revealed that past Alameda County prosecutors had been illegally tracking and striking potential jurors on the basis of race and religion for decades. In one instance, prosecutors described a prospective Black female juror as a 'Short, Fat, Troll.' Prosecutors wrote of another prospective juror, 'I liked him better than any other Jew but no way.' Those findings served as the basis for Judge Chhabria's order and quickly became priority for Price's team, which had already been resentencing many other types of cases. According to Price and former staffers, the office assembled a team of victim witness advocates who contacted all of the survivors they were able to identify. Appeal reached California Supreme Court The team spent months reviewing cases, including the conviction of Grayland Winbush. Winbush, a Black man, was sentenced to death in 2003 following the murder of Erika Beeson during a robbery. He was 19 at the time of the crime. In court filings, attorneys for Winbush argued that his constitutional rights were violated when prosecutors removed all Black prospective jurors and relied on racial stereotypes to characterize him as a superpredator. In January, Price's office recommended that he be resentenced to 30 years to life, acknowledging that his case had 'become a reference point in discussions of jury selection misconduct.' In return, Winbush agreed that he would no longer continue appealing his sentence. But roughly three months later, Jones Dickson withdrew the original recommendation 'based on carefully considered victim impact and up-to-date legal analysis.' Attorneys for Winbush held that the office has no factual or legal ground to revoke its recommendation, maintaining that 'withdrawing a recommendation on a whim or based on 'a change in the political winds'' is not valid. The motion 'perpetuates, rather than confronts and remedies, the widespread race-based misconduct that led a federal judge to direct the office to review its death penalty cases,' wrote appellate defense attorney Rebecca Jones. 'The original resentencing petition filed by the (Alameda County District Attorney's Office) is a piece of its attempt to redress systemic bias reflected by the jury selection in Mr. Winbush's case.' Alameda County Superior Court Judge Pastran will decide whether to grant Jones Dickson's revocation of Winbush's resentencing recommendation in the months ahead. In another case, Jones Dickson is pulling the resentencing recommendation for Giles Albert Nadey, who was convicted and sentenced to death in 2000 for murdering a young woman. The case came up for argument in the California Supreme Court last year, around the same time that Price's office had surfaced evidence of prosecutorial misconduct, but did not consider that evidence and ultimately upheld the death sentence. In a divided opinion, the court looked at a prosecutor's decision to dismiss five of six Black women from Nadey's jury pool and determined the deputy district attorney had valid reasons to strike them, such as his perceptions of their political leanings. 'We conclude in each instance the prosecutor's reasons were inherently plausible and supported,' the court ruled in a 5-2 decision, citing evidence from jury questionnaires and the prosecutor's questioning of the stricken jurors. In a dissent, Justice Goodwin Liu referred to the federal court ruling that directed Price to review death penalty cases. The 'decision is particularly jarring given what has come to light in federal court regarding capital jury selection in Alameda County around the time that Nadey was tried,' Liu wrote. ___ This story was originally published by CalMatters and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
The Sun
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Diddy's lawyers demand mistrial after claim about destroyed evidence from Molotov cocktail used to bomb Kid Cudi's car
SEAN "Diddy" Combs' defense team have demanded a mistrial claiming prosecutorial misconduct over questioning of the destroyed evidence from Kid Cudi's Molotov cocktail car bombing. Combs ' lead attorney Marc Agnifilo argued the prosecution made an "outrageous" suggestion when they claimed the music executive, 55, could have played a part in the destruction of fingerprint evidence from Cudi's Porsche arson. 4 4 4 4 The defense claimed the suggestion was raised to the jury during the prosecution's questioning of arson investigator Lance Jimenez. Jimenez was testifying about his investigation into Cudi's car bombing and said that the fingerprint evidence recovered from the bottle of the Molotov cocktail was destroyed without his knowledge in 2012. Jimenez told the courtroom that the DNA evidence was destroyed on orders from the Los Angeles Police Department, who was not part of his team. After the judge called for a brief 10-minute break and the jury was escorted out of the courtroom, Agnifilo said the remarks "implied that someone in this courtroom was responsible for the destruction of the fingerprint cards." Combs' defense team urged Judge Arun Subramanian to declare a mistrial, citing prosecutorial misconduct. However, the motion was quickly denied. Judge Subramanian agreed to strike the questions and responses about the fingerprint evidence from the record. The judge then instructed the jury to disregard all the information disclosed about the DNA evidence, saying the questions and responses were irrelevant to the case. DAY 11 The day began with testimony from an officer with the Los Angeles Police Department, who responded to the break in at the property of Mescudi, better known as rapper Kid Cudi, in December 2011. The prosecution is also expected to call forth Victim #4, who is being identified in court only by the pseudonym "Mia," as well as a friend of the defendant's ex-girlfriend, Cassandra "Cassie" Ventura. Mia is a former employee of Combs, who prosecutors say was coerced into sex with him. During opening statements, prosecutor Emily Johnson described Mia as a former personal assistant whom Combs worked "to the bone for years." Johnson said that at some point, Combs allegedly forced himself on her sexually, coerced her to perform oral sex on him, and even snuck into her bed to have sex with her against her will. Deonte Nash, a friend of Ventura, is also slated to testify. TESTIMONY OF DIDDY'S FORMER ASSISTANT On Tuesday, Capricorn Clark, who worked for Combs on and off between 2004 and 2018, took the stand for the prosecution, testifying about her former boss' violent and arduous demands that led her to develop stress-induced alopecia. Clark told the court that while employed at Combs' company, her life was threatened about 50 times. She said Combs, 55, threatened her during her first day on the job after finding out she previously worked at his rival Suge Knight's Death Row Records. Clark told prosecutors how Combs and his security guard took her for a walk in Central Park at night. 'What did Mr. Comb tell you in the park?' prosecutors asked Clark. 'That since I'd worked for Suge Knight, if anything happened, he might have to kill me,' she testified. During Clark's testimony, the former assistant told jurors about the time an armed Combs banged on her door and allegedly kidnapped her after he learned about Kid Cudi and Cassandra Ventura's relationship in December 2011. Clark told the jury that Combs, who had a gun on his lap, and his security guard drove to Cudi's home, where she witnessed them break in. She claimed Combs and his security guard engaged in a car chase with Kid Cudi after the rapper pulled up beside them in his black Porsche. Clark disclosed shocking new details about Combs' violent assault of Ventura after learning about her relationship with Cudi. Venutra was on the ground "in a fetal position" as Combs kicked her as the singer laid "crying silently," Clark said. FIVE-DAY LIE DETECTOR TEST Combs' former assistant also told the court how she was forced to take lie detector tests for five days and warned she would be thrown in a river if she failed after Combs' jewelry went missing. Clark said she was left "petrified" after being brought to an abandoned building in New York and locked in while being questioned over the missing jewelry. The extraordinary claims emerged during the testimony of Clark, who repeatedly broke down in tears while describing her nightmarish employment with Diddy. At the start of Clark's testimony on Tuesday, she told the courtroom about the punishing hours and low pay she received while working for Combs. Over a dozen witnesses, including Combs' ex-girlfriend and singer Ventura, have taken the stand throughout the trial's first two weeks, giving harrowing testimony against the Bad Boy Records executive, 55. Clark's name was mentioned in the courtroom during rapper Kid Cudi's testimony on Thursday. Combs has pleaded not guilty to all charges as prosecutors continue to paint him as the ringleader of a criminal enterprise. He has denied all allegations against him and insists he's only engaged in consensual sex. The federal trial is expected to last eight weeks. If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call RAINN (Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network) at 800-656-HOPE (4673). 27th May 2025, 15:12 By Israel Salas-Rodriguez Sean Combs' alter-ego 'Frank Black' reemerges Clark told prosecutors that Combs would often book hotels under the names "Frank Black" or "Frank White." Meanwhile, Combs' girlfriends would use the name "Jackie Star," the assistant said on the stand. When asked what was in Combs' bags, Clark said, "A camera, small bottles of baby oil and lube. Cameras. Every time." "What would you be doing?" prosecutors asked Clark, to which she responded, "Watching TV, ordering room service, keeping up on sleep. Afterward, I'd sweep the room for anything left behind." Clark testified that the hotel rooms would be damaged with "baby oil." 27th May 2025, 15:04 By Israel Salas-Rodriguez Assistant was 'paid a $55,000 a year' Clark testified about the grueling conditions while working for Combs. "From his townhouse at 74th Street and Park in the morning, to Diddy's House studio at night," the former assistant said. "How much sleep did you get?" prosecutors asked. "On a good day, four hours," Clark recalled, adding, "On a bad day, two. I got a stress condition. I was paid $55k." 27th May 2025, 15:00 By Israel Salas-Rodriguez Questioned for five days Capricorn Clark testified that she had to undergo five days of questioning at the same dilapidated building. She described the intimidating questioning as "wires on you, and they question you. Did I steal?" "What did Paul say at the end?" prosecutors asked Clark. "That he'd come back the next day to figure this out. We started again, another lie detector test in the same location. All day," Clark recalled. Clark told prosecutors she was not free to leave and that the questioning continued for five days. After the five days, Clark said she was informed she could return to work and that "Mr. Combs would see me the next week." By Israel Salas-Rodriguez Combs' security 'forced' assistant to take lie detector test Clark testified that there was one instant when she was accused of stealing jewelry. The former assistant said Uncle Paulie, Combs' security guard, "questioned her for three hours" about the missing jewelry and then went to search her home in Queens. Clark said she was then taken to the sixth floor of a "dilapidated" building on Broadway, where there was a "six-foot folding table and a heavyset man" waiting for her. "What did the heavyset man say?" prosecutors asked Clark, to which she replied, "I was there to take a lie detector test." Prosecutors then asked Clark what would happen if she failed the test, to which Clark said, "That they would throw me in the East River." 27th May 2025, 14:48 By Israel Salas-Rodriguez Assistant 'observed' Combs with a gun at her home Capicorn Clark recalled witnessing Sean Combs with a gun at her home once, she testified. Clark also said she overheard Combs discussing guns before. "He, Mr. Combs, told Chris Lighty he had a gun. He had a problem with 50 Cent," the former assistant said. 27th May 2025, 14:43 By Israel Salas-Rodriguez Combs 'threatened' assistant on her first day Clark testified that on her first day, Combs and his security guard, Uncle Paulie, took her to Central Park during the night. She described to the courtroom how Uncle Paulie looked "like a linebacker." "What did Mr. Comb tell you in the park?" prosecutors asked Clark. "That since I'd worked for Suge Knight, if anything happened, he might have to kill me," Clark testified. 27th May 2025, 14:40 By Israel Salas-Rodriguez Assistant previously worked for Combs' rival, Suge Knight Caripcorn Clark told prosecutors that before she was employed by Combs in 2004, she worked for Suge Knight's Death Row Records. 27th May 2025, 14:36 By Israel Salas-Rodriguez Sean Combs' former assistant on the stand The first government witness to be called to the stand on Tuesday was Capricorn Clark. Clark told jurors she worked for Combs from 2004 to 2012. 27th May 2025, 14:35 By Israel Salas-Rodriguez Diddy trial back in session Sean Combs' federal sex trafficking trial has resumed following a four-day break.
