Judge Sets Aside Death Sentence

A convicted killer who has been on San Quentin’s death row for the past 21 years had his sentence set aside Thursday when a Los Angeles federal judge ruled that the jury foreman in his trial committed misconduct by reciting biblical passages about capital punishment during penalty deliberations.

Among the passages imparted to the jury in Stevie Lamar Fields’ 1979 trial were: “Who so sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed,” “Eye for eye, tooth for tooth,” and “He that killeth any man, shall surely be put to death.”

The jury was deadlocked 7 to 5 at the time in favor of life without the possibility of parole. After hearing from the foreman, the panel voted unanimously to send Fields to the gas chamber.

U.S. District Judge Dickran Tevrizian gave the state 60 days to agree to a new penalty trial or Fields’ sentence for the 1978 robbery and murder of USC student librarian Rosemary Janet Cobb will automatically be downgraded to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Besides reading them Bible quotes, foreman Rodney A. White gave the jurors dictionary definitions that he looked up at home of such words as “mitigate,” “extenuate” and “vindication,” definitions that Fields’ defense said were at odds with their legal meanings.

Courts have long held that jurors cannot consider extraneous information in deciding cases. They are routinely warned about that before retiring to deliberate.

Citing those precedents, Tevrizian, a self-described hard-liner on crime, said in his 84-page ruling Thursday that he had no choice but to set aside Fields’ death sentence.

Tevrizian said the death penalty deliberations were “rendered fundamentally unfair by the jury’s consideration of extrinsic evidence in violation of the jury’s oath, the trial court’s numerous admonitions during the jury selection process and the trial court’s instruction to the jury.”

Fields’ appeals lawyer, David S. Olson, who has worked on the case for the past seven years, said his client was understandably relieved and pleased by the court ruling.

He said Fields, 44, is interested in pursuing an appeal of his conviction as well. In addition to Cobb’s slaying, Fields was found guilty in the same Los Angeles Superior Court trial of kidnapping, raping and robbing three other women, all while he was on parole for manslaughter. He received life terms for those crimes.

Deputy State Atty. Gen. Carol Frederick Jorstad, who defended the death penalty verdict before Tevrizian, said, “Of course, we’re disappointed. We thought the case was much closer.”

Jorstad argued in court that there was no evidence to show that the foreman’s conduct prejudiced the jurors. When questioned, most jurors gave statements saying that they could not recall the foreman’s remarks.

“The only way we could have rebutted [the defense] was if we had somebody who had a clear memory of what went on. We didn’t. That prejudiced us,” Jorstad said.

The defense was able to prevail in large measure because White, now 75, kept the notebook that he used during the trial. Preserved in that notebook were the biblical passages and dictionary definitions he read to fellow jurors two decades ago. In a signed statement, White said that if he hadn’t done so, “the jury may not have reached a verdict on the penalty.”

Jorstad said that in 1994 the California Supreme Court considered those same jury misconduct allegations and rejected them without comment.

“This is not a case of a factually innocent man being rescued from the gas chamber,” she said. “We’re talking about someone who has ruined a lot of lives.”

A spokesman for state Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer said, “We’re reviewing the court’s decision and we’ll be conferring not only with attorneys in our own office but with the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office on the next step.” The district attorney prosecuted Field for the murder.