The Supreme Court today affirms the death sentence in People v. Lopez for the defendant who was convicted of murder and committing lewd and lascivious conduct on a child. The jury also made a special circumstance finding that the murder involved torture on the victim, who was the 21-month-old granddaughter of the defendant’s girlfriend.
The court’s unanimous opinion by Justice Goodwin Liu rejects numerous arguments, including that there was error in admitting testimony against the defendant of two young children and that the court improperly pressured the jurors to reach a penalty verdict after they reported being deadlocked.
