People v. Stankewitz CA5

INTRODUCTION

Following a retrial, appellant Douglas Ray Stankewitz was convicted by jury of first degree murder (Pen.1 Code, § 187), robbery (§ 211), and kidnapping (§ 207), all with the personal use of a firearm (§ 12022.5). In addition, the jury found true special circumstances alleging that the murder occurred during the commission of a robbery and a kidnapping (former § 190.2, subd. (c)(3)(i), (ii).) The jury returned a verdict of death. In 1990, Stankewitz’s guilt, the special circumstance findings, and the penalty verdict were affirmed following an automatic appeal to the California Supreme Court. (People v. Stankewitz (1990) 51 Cal.3d 72, 80.) In 2009, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California granted, in part, a petition for writ of habeas corpus filed by Stankewitz, reversing his death sentence for ineffective assistance of counsel at the penalty phase of his capital murder trial. (Stankewitz v. Wong (E.D. Cal. 2009) 659 F.Supp.2d 1103.) In 2012, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the District Court’s grant of habeas relief reversing Stankewitz’s death sentence. (Stankewitz v. Wong (9th Cir. 2012) 698 F.3d 1163, 1176.) In 2019, the…