Emotional Death Penalty Plea Made

In an emotional plea for the death penalty, a prosecutor told a Van Nuys Superior Court jury that when a prison parolee decided to kill a Lancaster man, that act stole a lifetime of happiness from the victim’s family

During closings arguments in the penalty phase of Scott Forrest Collins’ murder trial, Deputy Dist. Atty. Lea Purwin D’Agostino said the victim, Jeffrey D. Rose, would never see his children graduate and would not walk his two daughters down the aisle at their weddings.

“Consider the fact that Mr. Rose is never going to be there for his family again,” D’Agostino said to the jury, her voice wavering with emotion.

“The defendant took care of that when he decided to shoot Mr. Rose in cold blood to make sure there wouldn’t be any witnesses to his crime. . . . He gave the entire family a life sentence.”

The same jury that convicted Collins, 23, of murdering Rose on Jan. 23, 1992, near some railroad tracks in North Hollywood will begin deliberations today to determine if Collins should be executed or spend the rest of his life in prison.

During the guilt phase of the trial, D’Agostino presented evidence that showed that Collins abducted Rose near his office in Palmdale, drove the victim to an ATM machine in the San Fernando Valley and later shot him in the back of the head.

The prosecutor discussed the effect that the murder had on Rose’s wife and children.

“Think of all the birthdays, holidays and school events he won’t be there for,” D’Agostino said.

The victim’s wife, Sharon Rose, and the couple’s three children all testified last week how much they missed the 42-year-old construction supervisor.

“What this defendant did to the Rose family is . . . a thousand times worse than anything the criminal justice system could do to him,” the prosecutor said.

Defense attorney Bruce Hill countered D’Agostino’s emotional plea by appealing to the jury’s sense of right and wrong as he asked the panel to spare his client from execution.

The goal of the proceeding is to find a way to uphold Rose’s life, protect society and punish Collins, “and do so without losing our own humanity,” Hill said.