Post by admin4laney on Jul 26, 2005 12:45:42 GMT -5
A San Diego judge sentenced David Westerfield to death Friday for the kidnapping and murder of his 7-year-old neighbor, Danielle van Dam.
Judge William Mudd, who presided over last year's trial, refused a defense request to reduce a jury's death recommendation to life without parole.
"You shall be put to death within the walls of the California State Prison at San Quentin in the manner prescribed by law on a date to be fixed by this court in a warrant of execution," Mudd told Westerfield.
The 50-year-old former design engineer showed no emotion as the judge sentenced him, nor as Danielle's mother, Brenda van Dam, called him "a monster" and begged him for answers about the shocking crime.
"Why didn't you just let her go?" Brenda van Dam said, her voice rising through tears. "What were you thinking as you killed her?"
But Westerfield had no answers. Throughout the hour-long proceeding, he spoke only once, replying, "No, thank you," when Mudd asked if he wanted to make a statement.
The sentencing came just 11 months after the crime, a breakneck pace for a capital case that was dictated by the defendant's demand for a speedy trial.
Westerfield, a divorced father who lived two doors from the van Dams, snatched second-grader Danielle from her bedroom the night of Feb. 1, killed her and tossed her body along an isolated roadside. Prosecutors said she probably was repeatedly sexually assaulted in Westerfield's home and recreational vehicle before being suffocated.
Brenda van Dam read the court excerpts from Danielle's diary.
Seven of the jurors who convicted Westerfield and recommended a death sentence were in court for the sentencing and heard Westerfield's lawyer, Steven Feldman, urge the judge to set aside their verdict and grant his client mercy.
"You can in your power spare Mr. Westerfield's life. I ask you, take the high road. I ask you, don't acquiesce to the heartless killing of another. I ask you, don't be swayed by the lynch mob mentality we've seen in our community," said Feldman.
But Mudd declined, saying the brutality of the crime, Danielle's age and child pornography found in Westerfield's home made death the correct punishment.
The judge also brushed off defense claims that misconduct by police during early interrogations of Westerfield should result in a life sentence. Mudd said he had penalized the prosecution for those missteps before the jury was even seated.
"The defendant suffered absolutely no, zero, zip, nada prejudice in this trial as a result of the conduct of these officers," said Mudd.
Westerfield's sister and brother-in-law were in court for the sentencing and listened as Brenda van Dam and her husband, Damon, gave emotional statements about the impact of the crime on their lives and the lives of their two sons.
Damon van Dam cried as he told the court he would never have the chance to see his daughter grow up.
Damon van Dam, wearing a lapel button of his daughter's photo, listed milestones Danielle would never reach, including her first date, graduation, marriage and motherhood.
"I won't get to walk her down the aisle," he said, his voice choking with emotion.
Brenda van Dam addressed Westerfield directly, recalling her misery during the 26 days Danielle was missing.
"You sat by smugly as thousands of people searched for Danielle," she said.
Westerfield never met her gaze.
After the hearing, the van Dams' civil lawyer, Gloria Allred, said that in addition to pursuing a wrongful death suit against Westerfield, she and Brenda van Dam planned to lobby California lawmakers for a change to the death penalty statute. Allred said "Danielle's Law" would make anyone who killed a child eligible for capital punishment.
Damon van Dam told Court TV that he would not be as involved in the push for a new law or other public tributes to his daughter.
"I am more on the healing and being around our boys right now," he said of his sons, Derek and Dylen. "But I support (Brenda) 100 percent and I know it's going to lead to good things."
Westerfield will join more than 600 men on California's death row. With mandatory appeals, his execution could be decades away.
"These are never over," prosecutor George "Woody" Clarke acknowledged as he described the long appellate process.
www.courttv.com/trials/westerfield/010303_sentence_ctv.html
Judge William Mudd, who presided over last year's trial, refused a defense request to reduce a jury's death recommendation to life without parole.
"You shall be put to death within the walls of the California State Prison at San Quentin in the manner prescribed by law on a date to be fixed by this court in a warrant of execution," Mudd told Westerfield.
The 50-year-old former design engineer showed no emotion as the judge sentenced him, nor as Danielle's mother, Brenda van Dam, called him "a monster" and begged him for answers about the shocking crime.
"Why didn't you just let her go?" Brenda van Dam said, her voice rising through tears. "What were you thinking as you killed her?"
But Westerfield had no answers. Throughout the hour-long proceeding, he spoke only once, replying, "No, thank you," when Mudd asked if he wanted to make a statement.
The sentencing came just 11 months after the crime, a breakneck pace for a capital case that was dictated by the defendant's demand for a speedy trial.
Westerfield, a divorced father who lived two doors from the van Dams, snatched second-grader Danielle from her bedroom the night of Feb. 1, killed her and tossed her body along an isolated roadside. Prosecutors said she probably was repeatedly sexually assaulted in Westerfield's home and recreational vehicle before being suffocated.
Brenda van Dam read the court excerpts from Danielle's diary.
Seven of the jurors who convicted Westerfield and recommended a death sentence were in court for the sentencing and heard Westerfield's lawyer, Steven Feldman, urge the judge to set aside their verdict and grant his client mercy.
"You can in your power spare Mr. Westerfield's life. I ask you, take the high road. I ask you, don't acquiesce to the heartless killing of another. I ask you, don't be swayed by the lynch mob mentality we've seen in our community," said Feldman.
But Mudd declined, saying the brutality of the crime, Danielle's age and child pornography found in Westerfield's home made death the correct punishment.
The judge also brushed off defense claims that misconduct by police during early interrogations of Westerfield should result in a life sentence. Mudd said he had penalized the prosecution for those missteps before the jury was even seated.
"The defendant suffered absolutely no, zero, zip, nada prejudice in this trial as a result of the conduct of these officers," said Mudd.
Westerfield's sister and brother-in-law were in court for the sentencing and listened as Brenda van Dam and her husband, Damon, gave emotional statements about the impact of the crime on their lives and the lives of their two sons.
Damon van Dam cried as he told the court he would never have the chance to see his daughter grow up.
Damon van Dam, wearing a lapel button of his daughter's photo, listed milestones Danielle would never reach, including her first date, graduation, marriage and motherhood.
"I won't get to walk her down the aisle," he said, his voice choking with emotion.
Brenda van Dam addressed Westerfield directly, recalling her misery during the 26 days Danielle was missing.
"You sat by smugly as thousands of people searched for Danielle," she said.
Westerfield never met her gaze.
After the hearing, the van Dams' civil lawyer, Gloria Allred, said that in addition to pursuing a wrongful death suit against Westerfield, she and Brenda van Dam planned to lobby California lawmakers for a change to the death penalty statute. Allred said "Danielle's Law" would make anyone who killed a child eligible for capital punishment.
Damon van Dam told Court TV that he would not be as involved in the push for a new law or other public tributes to his daughter.
"I am more on the healing and being around our boys right now," he said of his sons, Derek and Dylen. "But I support (Brenda) 100 percent and I know it's going to lead to good things."
Westerfield will join more than 600 men on California's death row. With mandatory appeals, his execution could be decades away.
"These are never over," prosecutor George "Woody" Clarke acknowledged as he described the long appellate process.
www.courttv.com/trials/westerfield/010303_sentence_ctv.html
