COURT DEBATES HAUN'S FATE; PROSECUTORS WANT CONVICTED MURDERER SENTENCED TO DEATH.

Byline: Jesse Hiestand Daily News Staff Writer

Appearing exhausted, eyes puffy from crying, convicted murderer Diana Haun sat slumped in a Ventura courtroom Friday as attorneys argued whether she should be executed or spend the rest of her life in prison.

Prosecutor Michael Frawley told jurors they were morally obligated to impose the death sentence on Haun, convicted of the brutal slaying of homemaker Sherri Dally, no matter how difficult that decision might be.

``Rarely are murders planned with such detail, under circumstances that show such disregard for human life,'' he said.

But Deputy Public Defender Susan Olson maintained that Haun could find redemption behind bars if given the chance.

``If you sentence Ms. Haun to life in prison without the possibility of parole, you are sentencing her to a life that is an unrelenting reminder - minute by minute - of the harm she has done,'' Olson said.

Closing arguments in trial's penalty phase concluded Friday, leaving the jury of Santa Barbara residents to begin weighing evidence of the defendant's character and the crime before recommending a sentence.

The same jury convicted Haun last month of conspiracy, kidnapping and murder, along with a special circumstance of killing for financial gain, which makes her eligible for death by lethal injection.

Prosecutors said Haun, a 36-year-old grocery clerk from Port Hueneme, repeatedly stabbed Sherri Dally and may have beheaded her with an ax in May 1996, as a birthday present for Michael Dally, her longtime lover and the victim's husband.

Michael Dally, who is scheduled to be tried on kidnapping and murder charges in late November, was accused during Haun's trial of manipulating her into participating in the murder.

``There is no doubt that Diana Haun was completely enthralled by Michael Dally,'' Olson said. ``She lived and breathed for her man. He encouraged and cultivated that obsession because he knew he could use her.''

Michael Dally capitalized on that obsession by coercing Haun into killing his wife so he could avoid a costly divorce, Olson said.

``Without the influence of Michael Dally in her life, without her vulnerability to him, she would never have killed,'' she said.

Olson lashed out at Michael Dally, reminding jurors that witnesses have called him a liar, drug user, patron of prostitutes and a two-bit pimp.

Haun may have been easily manipulated, Olson said, because her father was an alcoholic, her mother was secretive about the family's history and Haun grew up awkward, shy and overweight.

But prosecutors called this a ``nonsense'' defense, saying it was ridiculous to explain away a brutal murder by attacking the defendant's parents or blaming it on a troubled childhood.

``She was not raised to become a monster. She did it all by herself,'' Frawley said. ``Somewhere along the way she chose evil. She embraced it with all her heart.''

Frawley also attacked the defense tactic of blaming Michael Dally for the murder. Haun was a strong-willed, independent woman who would have gotten away with murder had the victim's decomposing body not been found about three weeks after she disappeared.

Frawley reminded jurors of evidence that Haun carefully planned the kidnapping and then boldly carried it out by stalking the victim. He also called her a ``greedy predator,'' motivated by a desire to have Michael Dally and his two sons for herself and the opportunity to get the victim's $50,000 life insurance policy as well.

``Sherri Dally was simply an irritant to that woman,'' Frawley said, pointing at Haun. ``(Sherri Dally) was merely a financial obstacle to this woman getting Michael Dally.''

And, in Frawley's estimation, the defendant has shown no remorse.

``She deserves to die. She earned it.'' he said.