In Re Miranda

Petitioner Adam Miranda is confined at San Quentin State Prison pursuant to a September 17, 1982, judgment of death rendered in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. In that proceeding, petitioner was convicted, inter alia, of the first degree murder of Gary Black (Pen. Code, §§ 187, 189), with a finding that the murder was committed while petitioner was engaged in the attempted commission of a robbery (§ 190.2, former subd. (a)(17)(i), now subd. (a)(17)(A)). We affirmed petitioner’s conviction (.People v. Miranda (1987) 44 Cal.3d 57 [ 241 Cal.Rptr. 594 , 744 P.2d 1127 ]) and denied three prior habeas corpus petitions challenging his conviction and sentence (In re Miranda, Nov. 12, 1987, Cr. 25350; In re Miranda, June 21, 1989, S007965; In re Miranda, Oct. 13, 1993, S028518).

The only evidence introduced in aggravation during the penalty phase of petitioner’s trial concerned the killing of Robert Hosey some two weeks before the capital crime. (After the conclusion of the capital trial, petitioner pleaded guilty to the second degree murder of Hosey, and a judgment of guilt was entered on February 1, 1983.) Joe Saucedo testified that petitioner stabbed Hosey after an…