Sen. Boxer calls for death penalty in SF cop killer case
ERICA WERNER, Associated Press Writer
Tuesday, May 4, 2004 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(05-04) 17:41 PDT WASHINGTON (AP) --
Sen. Barbara Boxer on Tuesday called for the death penalty for the killer of a San Francisco police officer and asked the U.S. Attorney's office to prosecute the case.
"I hope you will come into this case as a prosecutor to assure the public that the full force of the law will be brought to bear and that the killer pays the ultimate price for his actions," Boxer wrote in a letter to Kevin Ryan, U.S. Attorney for the Northern California.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported last week, citing unnamed sources, that the U.S. Attorney's office was investigating the case, but Ryan's office declined to confirm that. Ryan spokesman Matthew Jacobs said Tuesday there would be no comment on the case.
District Attorney Kamala Harris has said she won't seek the death penalty in the murder of Officer Isaac Espinoza, the first on-duty San Francisco Police officer killed in 10 years. Harris took office three months ago after running on an anti-death penalty platform.
The alleged killer, David Hill, 21, is a reputed gang member who prosecutors say shot Espinoza on April 10 when the officer stopped him to see if he was carrying a gun.
A federal case could be built on Hill's gang involvement, sources told the Chronicle.
Boxer is fending off charges of being overly liberal and weak on crime as she seeks a third U.S. Senate term. Her opponent Bill Jones, California's former secretary of state and author of the state's three-strikes law, called on the U.S. Attorney over the weekend to get involved in the case.
"I've been for the death penalty in heinous crimes since 1985," Boxer, who is heavily favored in the race, said in an interview. "It's a question of my beliefs and those beliefs have been out there and I've voted my beliefs many times in those years and this has been my position for almost 20 years now."
Sen. Dianne Feinstein has also said Espinoza's killer should get the death penalty.