Sixto

Appellant Felipe Evangelista Sixto was sentenced to die for the capital murder of five-year-old Jorge Garza. His convictions were overturned due to the ineffectiveness of his trial attorneys. Upon retrial, with representation by new counsel, he was again convicted but sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. In the published portion of this opinion, we will consider the trial court’s obligation, upon retrial, to undertake curative measures designed to remedy the effect of the deficient performance of original counsel.

Procedural History

On July 22,1981, an information was filed in Kern County Superior Court charging Sixto with murder (Pen. Code, § 187), forcible commission of a lewd and lascivious act on a child under the age of 14 years (§ 288, subd. (b)), and forcible sodomy on a child under the age of 14 years and more than 10 years younger than the defendant (§ 286, subd. (c)). Two special circumstances were alleged: the murder was committed while Sixto was engaged in or was an accomplice in the attempted commission of sodomy (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(17)(iv)), and the murder was committed while Sixto was engaged in or was an accomplice in the…