Convicted Murderer Asks Jury for Death Penalty

A convicted murderer who is acting as his own attorney surprised courtroom observers Tuesday by asking to be put to death for killing a HomeBase store manager during an attempted robbery.

Speaking in a calm, deliberate manner from the witness stand, Carl Frederickson said he would prefer execution over life in prison without parole, the two options that are now before the Orange County Superior Court jury.

Asked by his advisory counsel, Ed Freeman, why he wanted to die, Frederickson said: “I’m not sure, [maybe] it’s a fitting end to a ruined life.

“I’m not looking forward to spending the next 30 or 40 years in a maximum-security prison, but I will make do the best way I know how. I’ll survive,” Frederickson told the jurors. “If I’m given the death penalty, I’m not going to worry much over that.”

It is unusual for defendants to represent themselves in criminal cases, and rarer still in cases involving such a severe penalty. Frederickson is believed to be only the second Orange County defendant to represent himself in a capital case.

But none of Orange County’s veteran attorneys interviewed Tuesday could recall a local case in which a convicted murderer asked jurors to recommend the death penalty.

The bizarre request was promptly cast as a maneuver to evade the death penalty by prosecutor Jim Tanizaki.

“I’m going to suggest to you,” Tanizaki told jurors, “that this conversion by Mr. Frederickson is an attempt to manipulate you, to dare you. . . . It’s an attempt to get sympathy from you.”

Frederickson, who has a history of criminal activity, was found guilty last month of shooting to death Scott Wilson after the manager refused to hand over money during an attempted robbery. Because robbery was a motive in the slaying, Frederickson could receive the death penalty.

Frederick’s unusual comments Tuesday contradicted earlier statement he made during the case. At one point, Frederickson asked jurors to acquit him of the robbery allegations so he could avoid the death penalty, Tanizaki said.

In previous court statements, Frederickson also claimed that he loved to be in prison and couldn’t function outside of it, the prosecutor said.

Frederickson has been his own lawyer in previous cases. His rap sheet includes four felony convictions, including burglary, robbery and assault with a deadly weapon. In the trial of Wilson’s death, Frederickson had asked to be sole defense attorney, but the court appointed Freeman to advise him.

Officials said Frederickson acquired a loaded gun and cased the store before June 13, 1996, when he shot Wilson, 30, in the temple during the foiled robbery, Tanizaki said.

“What type of a malignant heart is that?” Tanizaki asked jurors during his closing argument, during which he asked jurors to recommend the death penalty.

Speaking to jurors from the witness stand Tuesday, Frederickson was in tears when he spoke about the victim’s relatives.

“I’d like to apologize . . . and acknowledge full responsibility for what I’ve done,” said Frederickson, who will have the opportunity to address jurors again today before the panel begins its deliberations.