Death Sentences Upheld for 2 in ’89 Slayings at Church
The California Supreme Court on Thursday upheld death sentences for two half-brothers convicted of murder in a 1989 Southeast Los Angeles church shooting that left two worshipers dead and a third wounded.
The seven Supreme Court justices unanimously agreed that the men had received a fair trial.
“We have found no reversible error in any particular instance,” Justice Marvin R. Baxter wrote.
Albert Lewis, 50, and Anthony Oliver, 44, were sentenced to death in 1993 for the murders of Patronella Luke, 35, a cousin of Lewis’ wife, and Eddie-Mae Lee, 76, a family friend.
Luke’s husband, Peter, was seriously wounded in the shooting.
Authorities said Oliver, hooded and dressed in black, stormed into Mount Olive Church of God and Christ looking for Lewis’ estranged wife as Lewis stood lookout. Oliver opened fire with a shotgun when he reached the pew where Luke and Lee were seated.
Trial errors, prosecutorial misconduct and violations of due process were cited in the appeal of Lewis’ and Oliver’s death sentences.
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