Federal judge orders Alameda County to review death penalty cases
LA TimesThe Alameda County Superior Courthouse is seen in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, May 13, 2021. Dozens of death penalty convictions in Alameda County must be reviewed after prosecutors there were found to have intentionally excluded Black and Jewish jurors during a murder trial in 1995, a federal judge ordered. Pamela Price on Monday said additional evidence suggests more death penalty cases may have been tainted by prosecutors trying to keep Black and Jewish jurors from murder trials. “The evidence that we have uncovered suggests plainly that many people did not receive a fair trial in Alameda County and as a result, we have to review all the files.” The order was by U.S. Federal Court District Judge Vince Chhabria after the notes from prosecutors were discovered in the case of Earnest Dykes, who was convicted in 1993 of the death of a 9-year-old during an attempted robbery. The Alameda County D.A.’s office has identified 35 death penalty cases going back to 1977 that are now under review, Price said.
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