# 012132

Frozen in Time: The Death Penalty in California - Past, Present & Future

This program will focus on the ethics involved in capital punishment as it has been applied in the past, is applied in the present, and is likely to be applied in the future.

The program will begin with a short presentation on the life and death of Caryl Chessman. It will be followed by a panel discussion moderated by former District Attorney Gil Garcetti.

Judge William Pounders will provide the judge's perspective on the impact and difficulties of presiding over a death penalty trial. Deputy District Attorney Bobby Grace will discuss current perspectives on the prosecution of death penalty cases including issues of lingering doubt, victim impact evidence, and ethical issues of ineffective assistance of counsel.

Marcia Morrissey, Criminal Defense Attorney, will discuss the defense against the death penalty ethically, morally, and legally. She will discuss the debate about capital punishment focused not on whether those convicted of violent crimes deserve to die, but whether the state is entitled to kill those whom it has imprisoned. In our criminal justice system, the rich and guilty fare better than the poor and innocent.

A. Joey Esposito, Los Angeles County Deputy D.A., will discuss the criteria for a case to qualify for the death penalty and Gil Garcetti will provide views on the current and future status of the death penalty in California.