Prosecutors haven’t shown Crittenden could get fair trial in Butte County, venue expert says
By Andre Byik
Chico Enterprise-Record
OROVILLE — Prosecutors have not met their burden showing Steven Crittenden, the previously condemned man whose murder convictions were overturned in the 1987 deaths of a prominent Chico couple, could receive a fair trial locally, a change of venue expert testified Tuesday.
The defense expert, retired Chico State University professor Edward Bronson, said he did not believe the prosecution, which filed a reverse change of venue motion seeking to hold Crittenden’s retrial in Butte County, has shown that conditions present at Crittenden’s original trial have been “sufficiently abated” for him to receive a fair trial locally.
Bronson conducted a formal survey gauging Butte County residents’ familiarity with the more than 30-year-old case, and he also analyzed news coverage of Crittenden’s retrial process in the last several years.
Butte County Superior Court Judge Tamara Mosbarger could rule where Crittenden’s retrial is held in January, after Crittenden’s defense team and Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey submit written arguments.
Crittenden, who previously waived his appearances for pretrial motions, was not present in court Tuesday.
Bronson found that 49 percent of survey respondents recognized Crittenden’s case. He also found that of those who responded that Crittenden was either “probably guilty” or “definitely guilty,” a higher percentage of people answered “definitely guilty.” The finding posed an unusual and problematic case of prejudgment among potential jurors
In his analysis of news coverage about Crittenden’s case and retrial process, he pointed to an article published by this newspaper in August that included an interview with Crittenden’s half-brother, Bryant Jones.
Jones said Crittenden confessed to the January 1987 killings of Dr. William Chiapella, 68, and Katherine Chiapella, 67, before he was arrested as a suspect the same month. Jones also called Crittenden a “psychopath” who led a troubled life.
Bronson said the article could be prejudicial to Crittenden’s presumption of innocence at trial.
Crittenden, now 51, was convicted in 1989 of murder and sentenced to death in the slayings of the Chiapellas. Crittenden was a Chico State University student at the time, and the high-profile killings shocked the community.
Crittenden’s convictions were later overturned by a federal district court that found the original prosecutor, Gerald Flanagan, was substantially motivated by race when he excluded the only potential black juror at Crittenden’s trial.
Crittenden is black.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal upheld the district court’s ruling in 2015. Crittenden has remained in custody on death row at San Quentin as he awaits his new trial.
Crittenden’s original trial took place in Placer County instead of Butte County in part because of extensive pretrial publicity
Ramsey has filed a motion seeking to hold Crittenden’s new trial in Butte County, arguing in part that the passage of time, a relative lack of recent publicity and population changes in the county would allow Crittenden to receive a fair trial locally.
He previously argued Nov. 1 that anyone under the age 44 would have been in grammar school or not born at the time of the Chiapellas’ deaths, giving the defense and prosecution a large pool of potential jurors to draw from.
Ramsey said with careful questioning, an impartial jury selection in Butte County is not only possible, it’s probable.
https://www.chicoer.com/2018/12/11/p...e-expert-says/
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