51st Reversal of Death Penalty
The state Supreme Court today reversed the death sentence of a Compton man for the robbery and murder of a San Pedro gasoline station attendant, ruling that although the victim was shot at close range, intent to kill was not proved.
By a 5-1 vote, the court followed previous rulings on the intent-to-kill issue in overturning the death sentence of James Ratliff.
It was the 51st death sentence the court has reversed out of 54 it has considered since the state’s death penalty law was reinstated in 1977. The court has voted to reconsider reversals of three other death sentences.
The majority opinion was endorsed by Chief Justice Rose Elizabeth Bird and Justices Stanley Mosk, Joseph Grodin, Cruz Reynoso and Allen Broussard. Justice Malcolm Lucas dissented.
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