Gas Chamber Urged in Vicious Murder
A judge Thursday recommended the gas chamber for a Palmdale man who contended that he was possessed by an evil alter ego when he raped a woman, beat her into a coma, then set her bed afire.
James Scott, 26, was sentenced in 1986 to 26 years in prison for raping, severely beating and burning 24-year-old Wanda Jensen. But he was charged with first-degree murder after the comatose victim died in 1987 of complications from her burns.
The murder charge was heard in a non-jury trial before Superior Court Judge Margaret M. Grignon, who recommended the death penalty Thursday. Grignon will review the case before she imposes final sentence on May 18.
Scott surrendered to Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies four days after the April, 1986, attack on Jensen.
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