THOUSAND OAKS : Lawyers Question Grand Jury Makeup

Defense attorneys in a Thousand Oaks death-penalty case have told a judge that they want to examine the racial and ethnic composition of the grand jury that returned a murder indictment against their client.

The public defenders are questioning whether the Ventura County Grand Jury, which indicted Mark Scott Thornton in December, fairly represented minorities in Ventura County.

Ventura County Superior Court Judge Charles R. McGrath scheduled a hearing April 11.

Police say Thornton, 19, kidnaped and fatally shot Kellie O’Sullivan, the mother of a young boy, on Sept. 19.

Deputy Public Defender Susan R. Olson said her office has requested statistics on the racial and ethnic makeup of members who have served on the grand jury over the past 10 years.

Olson’s co-counsel, Deputy Public Defender Howard Asher, said defense attorneys want to see whether there is a “systematic exclusion for racial minorities” on the grand jury.

If so, the attorneys said, Thornton’s indictment could be thrown out or prosecutors would at least have to refile charges against him.

The attorneys said the fact that both the defendant and the victim in the O’Sullivan case are white is irrelevant. They said Thornton was entitled to have a grand jury that is representative of the county hear testimony against him.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael K. Frawley said prosecutors do not expect the defense attorneys’ inquiry to turn up anything that could result in Thornton’s indictment being thrown out.

The grand jury--an arm of the government--is a 19-member citizens panel chosen by lot from a pool selected by Superior Court judges.