VENTURA : Judge Assigns Attorney to Meet With Thornton

A Ventura County judge has assigned a defense attorney experienced in capital cases to meet with convicted killer Mark Scott Thornton in response to a letter from Thornton, a prosecutor said.

The letter has not been made public, nor has it been read by Thornton’s two attorneys, deputy public defenders Howard Asher and Susan Olson.

But Deputy Dist. Atty. Peter D. Kossoris said he believes the letter is a complaint by Thornton about his attorneys and a request for new legal representation. At a hearing Friday morning, Judge Charles R. McGrath assigned Willard Wiksell to meet with Thornton about the letter, which was sent to McGrath last week. Wiksell will then decide whether to take any action.

Thornton, 20, was convicted of the Sept. 23, 1993, slaying of Westlake nurse Kellie O’Sullivan. A Ventura County jury recommended he be put to death. He is scheduled to be sentenced April 18.

Kossoris said he would not be surprised if Thornton now tries to appeal that verdict by criticizing his defense lawyers.

“He’s willing to say anything that will further his purpose,” Kossoris said. “It’s not an unusual claim. Once a case is over and you lose, the client tends to be unhappy.”

Wiksell, who could not be reached for comment Saturday, co-founded Conflict Defense Associates, a group of lawyers appointed by the court to defend poor people when the public defender’s office has a conflict of interest.

In recent years, he represented Christopher James Sattiewhite and Gregory Scott Smith, in death penalty cases.

Asher and Olson could not be reached for comment.