Capistrano

Defendant John Leo Capistrano was convicted at trial of one count of first degree murder (Pen. Code, § 187), 1 one count of attempted willful, premeditated murder (§§ 664, subd. (a), 187, subd. (a)), six counts of first degree robbery (§§ 211, 212.5, subd. (a), 213, subd. (a)(1)(A) & (B)), three counts of carjacking (§ 215), one count of first degree burglary (§ 459), two counts of rape in concert (§§ 261, subd. (a)(2), 264.1) and two counts of forcible oral copulation in concert (§ 288a, subds. (a) & (d)), arising from four separate incidents involving six victims. 2 The first incident, on December 9, 1995, involved the murder and robbery of Koen Witters, who was found in his Rowland Heights apartment strangled and with his arms cut. The second incident, on December 15, 1995, in the City of Whittier, involved the carjacking and home invasion robbery of J.S. and her husband, E.G., and the commission of the rape and forcible oral copulation of J.S. during that robbery. The third incident, on December 23, 1995, in the City of West Covina, involved the carjacking and home invasion robbery of Ruth and Patrick Weir. The fourth incident, on January 19, 1996, involved the home…

Concurring and Dissenting. — Since the United States Supreme Court authorized reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976, the ultimate punishment has been governed by the principle that its imposition must be rationally guided by law, not left to the sentencer’s unfettered discretion. Accordingly, the test for whether an individual is qualified to serve on a capital jury is whether he or she can faithfully apply the law in accordance with instructions given by the court. Neither strong support for the death penalty nor strong opposition to it is by itself disqualifying. The crucial inquiry is whether prospective jurors can set aside their personal views on the death penalty and follow the law.

This inquiry is not one that most people have thought much about. Most people never have reason to confront such a question apart from the rare circumstance of being evaluated for jury service in an actual death penalty case. When ordinary people are put in that situation, it may be the first time that they are being asked — under oath, by a person of authority, in a proceeding that really matters — to state their views on the death penalty and to consider whether their views should yield…

I. FACTS

A. Guilt Phase

1. Prosecution Evidence a. Defendant and His Associates Defendant was 25 years old when the instant offenses occurred between December 9, 1995, and January 19, 1996. He lived with his cousins Jessica and Joanne Rodriguez

2 at the Lido Garden Apartments in West Covina. Jessica Rodriguez had formerly lived at the Pheasant Ridge apartment complex with her mother. Defendant had helped Rodriguez‘s mother move out of the Pheasant Ridge apartments in November 1995. Koen Witters, the murder victim, also lived in the Pheasant Ridge complex. Defendant was regularly in the company of three youths, Michael Drebert, Eric Pritchard and Anthony Jason Vera. Drebert and Pritchard called defendant ―Dad.‖ Gladys Santos, a key prosecution witness, met defendant in October 1995. Santos also knew Drebert, Pritchard and Vera. Between December 1995 and January 1996, she saw defendant, Drebert and Pritchard regularly, and Vera less so. One reason she saw defendant so frequently during this period was because she was taking care of a 12-year- old girl, Justine, whom defendant treated as his daughter, although he was not her father. b. The Murder of Koen Witters on December 9,…