California Elections : Measure Ordering 25 Years for Cop Killers Poorly Worded, Foes Say

The death of a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy in the line of duty is the impetus for Proposition 67 on the June 7 ballot, a measure intended to impose mandatory 25-year prison sentences for second-degree murder of peace officers.

Opponents argue it is “just plain bad law” and so poorly drafted that it actually could shorten prison terms in some cases.

The proposition, which applies only to peace officer killings, would require people convicted of second-degree murder to spend a minimum 25 years in prison, with no time off for good behavior.

Currently, all second-degree murder convictions carry a 15-year-to-life imprisonment sentence. With credits for working and good behavior, the actual time served could be as low as 10 years, according to legislative officials.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Sherman Block said he sought the ballot proposition after the 1983 death of Deputy Lawrence Lavieri, 38, who was killed while trying to capture Lionel Henry, then 35, inside a house in Carson. Henry later was caught by neighborhood residents.

Block said prosecutors were unable to obtain a first-degree murder conviction, which could have meant the death penalty, because there were no witnesses to what happened after the wounded officer chased Henry into the house where Lavieri was shot a second time and died. The jury returned a verdict of second-degree murder in 1985, and Henry was sentenced to 30 years in prison but may serve as few as 11.

“Here was a law enforcement officer in full uniform, carrying out his duties” when he was killed, said Block. “A crime takes on another dimension when a law enforcement person is killed.”

Proposition 67 was put on the ballot by the Legislature after nearly unanimous approval by both houses. Assemblyman Robert Campbell (D-Richmond), the only legislator in either house to vote against the increased penalty plan, also authored the ballot argument against its passage.

Cindy Williams, Campbell’s chief of staff, said part of his opposition stems from a reluctance to make the second-degree conviction for murder of a peace officer a longer sentence than the first-degree murder conviction of any other person.

Under California’s a la carte sentencing system, a first-degree murder conviction of someone other than a police officer carries a 25-year-to-life imprisonment. With time off, the least a convict could serve would be about 17 years--compared to the 25 years they would have to do for second-degree murder of a peace officer under Proposition 67.

Additionally, Williams said, a technical error in preparing the measure produced language that could reduce the time convicts serve for first-degree murder. Instead of stating that a sentence may be reduced by one-third for working and good behavior, as the law now stipulates, the initiative states that time served could be cut in half.

Robert Franzoia, aide to Sen. Robert Presley (D-Riverside), who sponsored the legislation for Block, acknowledged that drafting mistakes could become law if the proposition passes. A bill correcting the mistake is before the Legislature and should be passed before election day, he said.

The ballot measure applies to “front-line” officers, such as police, sheriff’s deputies and California Highway Patrol officers. Williams said the way it was written, it also includes members of the San Diego harbor police but not narcotics agents for the state attorney general’s office. Franzoia said that is an error that only recently was detected.

But, said Williams, “it’s just plain bad law. It’s poorly written. If you want this (stiffer sentence) policy, you should send (the Legislature) back to the drawing boards to draft it right.”