Cash

A jury convicted Randall Scott Cash of the first degree murder of Bud Smith (Pen. Code, § 187), and it found true a special circumstance that the murder was committed in the course of a robbery (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(17)(A)). The jury also convicted defendant of the attempted murder of Susan Balestri (§§ 664/187). With respect to both the murder and the attempted murder, the jury found that defendant personally used a firearm (§ 12022.5). It also found that in committing the attempted murder, defendant personally used a deadly and dangerous weapon (§ 12022, subd. (b)), and personally inflicted great bodily injury (§ 12022.7). At the penalty phase the jury returned a verdict of death. Defendant’s appeal to this court is automatic. (§ 1239, subd. (b).)

We affirm the judgment as to guilt and the robbery special circumstance, but, because of prejudicial error in death qualification of the jury we reverse the judgment as to the penalty of death.

I. Facts

A. Guilt Phase—Prosecution’s Case

In June 1985, defendant sublet a room in a house occupied by Bud Smith, a cocaine dealer, and by Susan Balestri, Smith’s girlfriend. Over the course of the summer, defendant began to exhibit…