PENALTY PHASE UNDER WAY : PROSECUTION'S REMARKS BRIEF AT START OF MENENDEZ SENTENCING PROCESS.Byline: Anne Burke Daily News Staff Writer Facing possible execution for killing their wealthy parents, the Menendez brothers began the fight of their lives Wednesday as the penalty phase of their murder retrial retrial n. a new trial granted upon the motion of the losing party, based on obvious error, bias or newly-discovered evidence. (See: newly-discovered evidence) got under way. Prosecutors, who claim the brothers killed for money and independence, offered a terse Terse - Language for decryption of hardware logic. ["Hardware Logic Simulation by Compilation", C. Hansen, 25th ACM/IEEE Design Automation Conf, 1988]. opening statement and put on no witnesses urging the death penalty. But the defense portrayed Lyle, 28, and Erik, 25, as the products of a father who demanded perfection and a mother who treated animals better than her own children. ``(Walk) a mile in their moccasins, then decide what you feel is the appropriate punishment,'' Charles Gessler, Lyle's attorney, urged a Van Nuys Superior Court jury. Last week, an eight-man, four-woman jury returned first-degree murder verdicts, plus 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 lying in wait and multiple murder in the Aug. 20, 1989 shotgun slayings of Jose, 45, and Kitty, 47, in the family's Beverly Hills Beverly Hills, city (1990 pop. 31,971), Los Angeles co., S Calif., completely surrounded by the city of Los Angeles; inc. 1914. The largely residential city is home to many motion-picture and television personalities. mansion. Testimony and arguments are expected to last about two weeks. Afterward af·ter·ward also af·ter·wards adv. At a later time; subsequently. Adv. 1. afterward - happening at a time subsequent to a reference time; "he apologized subsequently"; "he's going to the store but he'll be back here , jurors will return to the deliberations room to recommend whether the brothers should receive the death penalty or life in prison without possibility of parole. In his opening statement, Deputy District Attorney David P. Conn, the lead prosecutor, said simply ``the death penalty is the appropriate penalty in this case.'' The first defense witness, Lyle and Erik's paternal PATERNAL. That which belongs to the father or comes from him: as, paternal power, paternal relation, paternal estate, paternal line. Vide Line. aunt, Teresita Baralt, testified tearfully tear·ful adj. 1. Filled with or accompanied by tears: tearful eyes; a tearful farewell. 2. So piteous as to excite tears: a tearful melodrama. that as much as she misses her slain brother and sister-in-law, she still loves their sons. ``Lyle and Erik are the boys that I didn't have,'' she told jurors, gazing lovingly at her grim-faced nephews. Many relatives from both Kitty's and Jose's families have taken the brothers' side in their long court battle, but some want to see the siblings pay dearly for their crimes. Baralt told jurors that Kitty mistreated her sons shamefully, saying she never saw Kitty hug or kiss her children, or wipe away their tears. However, Kitty lavished attention on her pet ferrets and dogs, Baralt said. The brothers claimed that the killings were brought on by a lifetime of emotional, physical and sexual abuse by their parents. But the jury did not consider the abuse sufficient reason for leniency le·ni·en·cy n. pl. le·ni·en·cies 1. The condition or quality of being lenient. See Synonyms at mercy. 2. A lenient act. Noun 1. . CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO Teresita Baralt, Jose Menendez's sister, testifies at Superior Court in the penalty phase of the Menendez brothers trial. Bob Halvorsen/Daily News |
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