Pride

*213 Opinion

Defendant Timothy Pride was convicted of two counts of first degree murder (Pen. Code, § 187) 1 with personal use of a knife (§ 12022, subd. (b)). Under the 1978 death penalty law, a special circumstance of multiple murder was found true. (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(3).) The jury sentenced defendant to death, and the trial court denied the automatic motion to modify the verdict. (§ 190.4, subd. (e).) This appeal is automatic. (§ 1239, subd. (b).)

We find no prejudicial error affecting the guilt or penalty phases of defendant’s trial. The judgment will be affirmed in its entirety.

I. Guilt Phase Evidence

A. Prosecution Case

The victims, Kimele S. and Catherine K., were Caucasian, in their 20’s, and employed by the Progressive Casualty Insurance Company in Sacramento (Progressive). The crimes occurred in the Progressive building on September 3, 1984, Labor Day.

That morning, Kimele and her husband, Jeff, an attorney, decided to spend the first part of the day at their separate offices and to visit his parents sometime after 2 p.m. Kimele and Jeff had sexual intercourse and then he left for work. He returned to an empty house at 12:30 p.m. and waited for Kimele. At 2:15…

I dissent

This case is but another example of the reluctance of many trial courts to conform to the letter and spirit of People v. Wheeler (1978) 22 Cal.3d 258 [ 148 Cal.Rptr. 890 , 583 P.2d 748 ], and the subsequently decided Batson v. Kentucky (1986) 476 U.S. 79 [ 90 L.Ed.2d 69 , 106 S.Ct. 1712 ]. (See, e.g., People v. Johnson (1989) 47 Cal.3d 1194 [ 255 Cal.Rptr. 569 , 767 P.2d 1047 ], in which all Black, Jewish, and Asian prospective jurors were peremptorily challenged on invidious grounds; see also People v. Howard (1992) 1 Cal.4th 1132, 1202-1210 [ 5 Cal.Rptr.2d 268 , 824 P.2d 1315 ] (dis. opn. of Kennard, J.).)

Here, defendant, a Black man, was charged with killing two White women. The prosecutor peremptorily challenged six Black prospective jurors, including the last two on the panel. The result was that defendant was convicted and condemned to death by an all-White jury. As a matter of pure statistical probabilities, it would appear unlikely that in one of the most populous counties in the state, with more than a million residents and many of them members of minority groups, each and every one of the Black jurors could properly have been struck.

The prosecutor stated…

Defendant Timothy Pride was convicted of two counts of first degree murder (Pen. Code, § 187) [1] with personal use of a knife (§ 12022, subd. (b)). Under the 1978 death penalty law, a special circumstance of multiple murder was found true. (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(3).) The jury sentenced defendant to death, and the trial court denied the automatic motion to modify the verdict. (§ 190.4, subd. (e).) This appeal is automatic. (§ 1239, subd. (b).)

We find no prejudicial error affecting the guilt or penalty phases of defendant's trial. The judgment will be affirmed in its entirety.

The victims, Kimele S. and Catherine K., were Caucasian, in their 20's, and employed by the Progressive Casualty Insurance Company in Sacramento (Progressive). The crimes occurred in the Progressive building on September 3, 1984, Labor Day.

That morning, Kimele and her husband, Jeff, an attorney, decided to spend the first part of the day at their separate offices and to visit his parents sometime after 2 p.m. Kimele and Jeff had sexual intercourse and then he left for work. He returned to an empty house at 12:30 p.m. and waited for Kimele. At 2:15 p.m., she told him over the phone that…