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Judge Ryan Grants Standing to Family of Murder Victim
Rebuffs Call by Gascón’s Office for Considering Resentencing of Slayer Without a Hearing
By a MetNews Staff Writer
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge William C. Ryan, the court’s specialist in resentencing, has recognized the standing of the kin of a murder victim to speak out, in a public session, against a proposed order vacating a death sentence and substituting a term of life imprisonment without possibility of parole, shunning a request by the office of District Attorney George Gascón that he issue such an order in chambers.
Although Ryan could, under a statute, do as Gascón’s office and the Office of Federal Public Defender requested—Penal Code §1170.03, effective Jan. 1, provides that “[r]esentencing may be granted without a hearing upon stipulation by the parties”—the jurist said, in an order issued Monday:
“The court takes note of the objection of counsel to the family of the victim to conducting a resentencing at chambers. Although the statute does permit such resentencing, in the court’s view that appears runs contrary to the rights that victims and their family have in addressing the court and giving a victim impact statement. The court has never had the intention of conducting any resentencing proceeding at anything other than a public hearing on the record.”
Cooley, Cady
Ryan’s order, obtained by former District Attorney Steve Cooley and former Deputy District Attorney Kathleen Cady, represents a victory for victims’ rights proponents.
Cooley said yesterday:
“Judge Ryan’s order is in compliance with the California Constitution and the Victim’s Bill of Rights. The relatives of the murder victim appreciate that they will be able to be present and be heard at any resentencing.
“Kathy Cady and I look forward to challenging George Gascon’s apparent overreach to accomplish his ideological goals at the expense of victims.”
Siddall Comments
Eric Siddall, vice president of the Association of Deputy District Attorneys (“ADDA”), commented yesterday:
“We are grateful for Judge Ryan’s order, as it protects the rights of victims and the public, while promoting transparency. However, it is sad that this order was even necessary.
“The prosecutor’s role is to ethically protect victims and the public. Instead, we now have a district attorney willing to undermine transparency to trample on the rights of the victims. Fortunately, there are checks and balances in our system; Judge Ryan’s order was one of those checks.”
Former U.S. District Court Judge Dickran Tevrizian remarked:
“Kudos to Judge William Ryan. Something of this magnitude should never happen behind closed doors.”
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Above is a photograph of murder victim Fred Rose, his wife, and their three daughters. Rose’s family members are opposing a judicial commutation of killer Scott Forrest Collins’s death sentence to life imprisonment without possibility of parole. |
1993 Murder
Cooley and Cady are representing the family of Fred Rose, who was slain, execution-style, on Jan. 23, 1992, by Scott Forrest Collins. Collins was convicted in 1993 of first degree murder, robbery, and kidnapping for the purpose of robbery, and was sentenced to death.
Acting for the District Attorney’s Office in the resentencing matter is Shelan Y. Joseph, a supporter of the election of Gascón in 2020, who was brought over by him from the Public Defender’s Office shortly after he took office, without imposing on her the task of taking an examination or undergoing training. The legality of the lateral transfer is being contested in a writ proceeding by the ADDA, armed with declarations from Cooley and the immediate past district attorney, Jackie Lacey, that the procedure utilized with respect to Joseph and others was inordinate and impermissible.
The ADDA claims that “[t]he Boss Tweed hiring practices which District Attorney Gascon claims he is entitled to pursue were outlawed in the 1880’s and buried in Los Angeles County with the 1912 ratification of the County Charter by voters.”
In a document filed in Collins’s case on Feb. 17, Cooley and Cady argued:
“The criminal justice system is designed to be an adversary system requiring a prosecutor and a defense attorney. The system does not work if there are two defense attorneys and no prosecutor.”
The “Victim’s Notice of Appearance and Assertion of Rights” goes on to say:
“Any objective review of the case and procedural history would lead one to come to the conclusion that the People’s Recommendation for Resentencing is a result of Gascon’s policy that ‘A sentence of death is never an appropriate resolution in any case’ and working backwards to have the ends justify the means.
“When the evidence suggests that the District Attorney’s Office and the defense are in collusion, the court is the final and only gate keeper to ensure that justice is done and victims’ rights are upheld.”
The ADDA announced on Feb. 22 that 97.9 percent of those casting ballots in a plebiscite—which was 83.3 percent of its more than 800 members—expressed support of the movement to recall Gascón.
Copyright 2022, Metropolitan News Company