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Thread: Maurice Gerald Steskal - California Death Row

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    Maurice Gerald Steskal - California Death Row


    Maurice Gerald Steskal


    Facts of the Crime:

    On June 12, 1999, Steskal was in the parking lot of a convenience store when police officer Brad Riches stepped out of his car on routine patrol. Steskal opened fire on Riches with an AK-47 assault rifle. Several of the bullets penetrated Riches’ bulletproof vest, killing him. Steskal claimed his seemingly inexplicable conduct was a result of a mental defect that caused him to have a paranoid fear of authority figures. A prior jury in the case had hung on an 11-1 vote for a life sentence.

    Steskal was sentenced to death on February 6, 2004 in Orange County.

  2. #2
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    This was a terrible tragedy. That being said Maurice is mentally ill. I knew him and while he shouldn't be out on the streets where he can hurt people, he shouldn't be put to death. I hope the appeals courts see it for what it is. A senseless murder committed my a mentally ill person.

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    Administrator Michael's Avatar
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    Facts and no propaganda please.. The defense tried to use the mental illness card before.

    Calling the 1999 slaying of an Orange County sheriff's deputy a "coldblooded, unprovoked attack," a judge Friday sentenced the killer to death.

    Judge Frank F. Fasel rejected a defense lawyer's argument that Maurice Gerald Steskal should instead be sentenced to life in prison because of mental illness the defense said caused the killer to irrationally fear police officers.


    (Source: The Los Angeles Times)




    December 13, 2003

    Steskal Should Die, Jury Says

    Time has not dulled Meriel Riches' grief or her need to see her son's killer receive justice.

    She received some solace Friday morning, though, when an Orange County jury recommended the death penalty for the man who murdered her son, a 34-year-old sheriff's deputy, moments after he pulled into a convenience store parking lot in 1999.

    "I don't think I can ever forgive," Riches said outside the Santa Ana courtroom where dozens of Brad Riches' relatives, friends and colleagues wept. "But I have hope that every cop will look at this verdict and feel it has given them more protection."

    An earlier jury that convicted Maurice Steskal deadlocked 11-1 in favor of life in prison without parole for the unemployed laborer, whose mistrust of authority figures allegedly drove him to carry an assault rifle.

    The most recent hearing lasted three weeks and included testimony from mental health experts and Riches' friends and relatives.

    Judge Frank F. Fasel will sentence Steskal on Feb. 6.

    Dressed in a checked shirt and khaki pants, Steskal, 44, stared straight ahead, expressionless, as the verdict was read. "Yes," said Riches' mother, her sigh audible throughout the courtroom, as relatives around her embraced and began to cry.

    "The victim impact was considerable," said jury foreman Joseph Luse, 66, of Fountain Valley after five days of deliberation. "That and other aggravating factors outweighed the mitigating factors of his mental illness."

    Prosecutors contended that Steskal's mental capacity allowed him to understand and plan his actions and know their consequences. He tried to escape detection by shaving his mustache and breaking down his AK-47 into small parts.

    "He knew exactly what he was doing," Deputy Dist. Atty. Bryan Brown said after the verdict was read. Brown called the recommendation a victory for law enforcement and Riches' family.

    "The jury recognized that police officers go out there every day to guarantee their freedoms," Brown said. "They realized that Brad Riches gave his life for us and deserves justice on his behalf."

    Public Defender Mark Davis left immediately after the verdict was read and was not available for comment.

    During the trial, he said that Steskal acted out of fright rather than maliciousness the night he fired 30 rounds from an assault rifle into his victim's body and patrol car.

    One mental health expert testified that Steskal was plagued by a paranoid fear that authority figures were hunting him, and that his test scores indicated an inability to reason that didn't align with his average intelligence.

    Testimony during Steskal's first trial revealed that he walked into a 7-Eleven in Lake Forest on June 12, 1999, an assault weapon in his left hand, and told the terrified clerk he planned to use the rifle against "the pigs."

    He bought a pack of cigarettes and left the store, where Riches had just arrived on routine patrol. Steskal emptied his gun's magazine at Riches. Several bullets tore through the deputy's bulletproof vest.

    "For myself and for his family and for the community, it closes another chapter," said firefighter Jim Henry, who befriended Riches 17 years ago when both were taking firefighter classes. "But nothing can ever bring back Brad."

    Source
    No murder can be so cruel that there are not still useful imbeciles who do gloss over the murderer and apologize.

  4. #4
    Administrator Michael's Avatar
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    One more article... please take a close look. Iadded some color to make it more convinient for you. Posts like yours hurt these poor people again...


    February 7, 2004

    Killer of O.C. Deputy Gets Death

    The judge rejects a mental illness plea by the defense. Dozens of the officer's friends, family and colleagues attend the sentencing.

    By Claire Luna
    The Los Angeles Times

    Calling the 1999 slaying of an Orange County sheriff's deputy a "coldblooded, unprovoked attack," a judge Friday sentenced the killer to death.

    Judge Frank F. Fasel rejected a defense lawyer's argument that Maurice Gerald Steskal should instead be sentenced to life in prison because of mental illness the defense said caused the killer to irrationally fear police officers.

    Deputy Brad Riches, 34, was pulling his patrol car into a 7-Eleven parking lot June 12, 1999, when Steskal opened fire with an AK-47, striking the deputy repeatedly.

    The crime touched many lives, Senior Asst. Dist. Atty. Bryan Brown said Friday.

    Brad Riches' mother still hasn't recovered from his death. Neither has the deputy's father, who has been clinically depressed and unable to work.

    "He still can't talk about it. When his son died, it's like he died, too," Brown said Friday
    as Bruce Riches turned away from the media in Orange County Superior Court.

    Nearly 60 of Riches' colleagues and friends attended the sentencing in Fasel's Santa Ana courtroom, with a dozen more forced to wait outside because the courtroom seats were filled.

    When Fasel read the order to commit Steskal, 44, to San Quentin State Prison's death row, the killer nodded slightly but otherwise showed no emotion.

    His attorney, Deputy Public Defender Mark Davis, said Steskal had an encounter with a sheriff's deputy months before the shooting that escalated his fear of police. In that incident, a deputy strip-searched Steskal and threw him to the ground during a traffic stop, Davis said.

    Based on the way Riches had been portrayed in court testimony, Davis said, "If it had been Brad Riches making that stop that night, I'd venture to say we wouldn't all be here today."

    Steskal's "minimal mental defect," Fasel said, "was not sufficient to outweigh the callousness of his crime. His mental defect explains, but does not excuse, his behavior."

    An Orange County jury in December declared that Steskal should be put to death for his crime. An earlier jury that had convicted Steskal deadlocked 11 to 1 in favor of life in prison without parole for the unemployed laborer.

    Members of the most recent jury said the impact of the killing on Riches' family and friends overshadowed Steskal's mental illness.

    Riches' mother, Meriel, attended most key hearings but was unable to travel from her home in England for the sentencing. Brown read a statement from the deputy's mother during Friday's hearing. She said the shooting destroyed her family.


    Her husband, she wrote, "is truly a broken man." In urging the death sentence for Steskal, she added, "I believe there should be no alternative to death, if by this action one police officer becomes safer."

    Riches was the first Orange County deputy sheriff since 1958 to be fatally shot while on duty.

    While Riches was still in his patrol car, Steskal unleashed 30 rounds of ammunition at the deputy.

    "It's not easy to condemn someone," Brown told the judge, "but by his actions, Mr. Steskal has condemned himself."

    The case automatically goes to the California Supreme Court on appeal. It can take up to six years for the state to appoint an appeals lawyer for the defendant. If the state appeal fails, Steskal may take his case to the federal courts.
    No murder can be so cruel that there are not still useful imbeciles who do gloss over the murderer and apologize.

  5. #5
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    My point is the This guy is mentally disturbed. I know him, did you? While I understand the family's pain, killing a guy that has serious mental problems is wrong. This is not propaganda as you have said, it is a fact as I know.

  6. #6
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Are you in contact with Steskal now? How's he dealing with that authority issue? Incarceration must be a bitch for him.

    Killing a murderer with mental issues is not unconstitutional. He chose not to take his medication therefore he is 100% culpable for his crime, and a sentence of death is just in this case.
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

  7. #7
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    No, I am not in contact with Steskal nor do I know how he is dealing with his incarceration. Incarceration is a bitch for anyone. I'm not trying to argue about the law or constitution. I'm just trying to put out the truth.
    I would disagree with you on the part about him being 100% culpable because he didn't take his medication. I have a brother who also has mental issues and is on medication. One of the problems with his condition is these people continually go off their medication all the time.
    The world is not as black and white as lots of people would like to think. If it were life would be so much less complicated and simpler.

  8. #8
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    See that is the problem. You are stating your opinion as truth. When the truth is... Steskal is executable. When the mentally ill stop taking their meds they are still held accountable for their actions as per the law, which is the truth!
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

  9. #9
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    Heidi, I'm not trying to argue with you or anyone. Just thought some of you would like a little insight to some of the people you're all reading about, writing about, discussing and I guess condemning.

  10. #10
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    I appreciate your effort, but you haven't offered any insight (just opinion) as to Steskal's particular affliction.
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

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