DA WON'T SEEK DEATH FOR DALLY; 2ND PENALTY TRIAL RULED OUT; WIFE-KILLER TO GET LIFE SENTENCE.Byline: Don Holland Daily News Staff Writer Three weeks after a jury deadlocked on whether to send convicted wife-killer Michael Dally to Death Row, prosecutors announced Monday that they will accept a sentence of life in prison without parole. Deputy District Attorney Lela Henke-Dobroth said prosecutors and District Attorney Michael Bradbury concurred that a new penalty trial probably would not result in a recommendation of death for the 37-year-old former supermarket worker. A second penalty trial, she added, also would cause further anguish for the family and friends of murder victim Sherri Dally, including the two young sons she had with the man responsible for her murder. ``I'm satisfied in the sense that Mike Dally is richly deserving of every day, every hour and every minute that he'll spend in prison,'' said Dobroth, the lead prosecutor. ``I'm pleased that he'll never get out. And I respect the jury's decision, and I can certainly understand why some of them felt they just couldn't give the death penalty. Those children don't need to go through any more.'' Superior Court Judge Charles Campbell Charles Campbell can refer to several people:
In the guilt phase, the same jury voted unanimously to convict Dally of first-degree murder, kidnapping and conspiracy for his role in planning the May 1996 killing of his wife, a Ventura homemaker and preschool teacher A Preschool Teacher is a type of early childhood educator who instructs children from infancy to age 5, which stands as the youngest stretch of early childhood education. Early Childhood Education teachers need to span the continum of children from birth to age 8. . Because Dally was convicted of special circumstances special circumstances n. in criminal cases, particularly homicides, actions of the accused or the situation under which the crime was committed for which state statutes allow or require imposition of a more severe punishment. of murder for financial gain and murder while lying in wait, the only sentence now available to him is life in prison without parole. He is scheduled to be formally sentenced June 9. Michael Dally's mistress, Diana Haun, was convicted of the same charges and also was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Despite their convictions and overwhelming evidence, Dally and Haun maintain their innocence. Dressed in a blue jail uniform, Dally hugged his attorneys following the brief court proceeding. Although he is relieved the case is finally over, Dally's father, Lawrence Dally, said he hopes his son's conviction will be overturned on appeal and that one day he will return home. ``I can't really put it into words, it's been so hard,'' said the elder Dally, who believes his son is innocent. ``It's just been a long two years.'' Dally's lead attorney, James Farley
James (Jim) Aloysius Farley (May 30, 1888–June 9, 1976) was an American politician who served as head of the Democratic National Committee and Postmaster General. , said it's now time for Dally to get on with his life behind bars. Within two weeks, Farley said, he plans to ask for a new trial on grounds of insufficient evidence insufficient evidence n. a finding (decision) by a trial judge or an appeals court that the prosecution in a criminal case or a plaintiff in a lawsuit has not proved the case because the attorney did not present enough convincing evidence. to warrant a conviction, as well as prosecutorial misconduct and errors committed by the judge. The conviction also will be appealed. The district attorney's decision not to retry re·try tr.v. re·tried , re·try·ing, re·tries To try again. Verb 1. retry - hear or try a court case anew rehear the penalty phase, Farley said, was the right thing to do for everyone concerned. ``I don't think the verdict would be any different, even if we did try it again,'' he said. ``And I think it's time to put an end to to destroy. - Fuller. See also: End all of this.'' Dobroth said that jurors who voted against the death sentence did so purely out of sympathy for Michael Dally's two sons and family. ``In speaking with them, I can assure you there (was) no sympathy in that jury room for Mr. Dally,'' Dobroth said. ``For those reasons, they just felt they did not want to vote for the death penalty, although the crime was certainly deserving of it and this particular defendant was deserving of it.'' During a five-week trial, prosecutors portrayed Dally as a drug-using womanizer wom·an·ize v. woman·ized, woman·iz·ing, woman·iz·es v.intr. To pursue women lecherously. v.tr. To give female characteristics to; feminize. who had mesmerized Haun and manipulated her into killing his wife. Dally's attorneys, meanwhile, said Haun had acted alone in getting rid of her romantic rival. According to prosecutors, Haun bought a disguise and rented a car, which she used to abduct abduct /ab·duct/ (ab-dukt´) to draw away from the median plane, or (the digits) from the axial line of a limb.abdu´cent ab·duct v. Sherri Dally from a Target parking lot in Ventura on May 6, 1996. Haun then beat and stabbed her lover's wife and, after possibly beheading her, dumped the body in a remote ravine near Ventura. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO (Ran in Valley Edition only) Michael Dally Convicted in wife's death |
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