Paul M. Anderson
LOS ANGELES -- It's now up to a jury acquit or decide how long a
former California Highway Patrol dispatcher will spend in prison for
allegedly murdering a Glendale woman.
Emotions ran high among victims and even court officials Monday as the
murder trial of Anthony Roy Shivers was handed to a jury. Most of the
controversy revolved around Superior Court Judge James M. Ideman's
decision to dismiss allegations that Shivers tortured his ex-girlfriend
Jeanette Cohen before she died.
The trial was interrupted a couple of times Monday because of the
issue. In an unusual move, Ideman ordered jurors out of the courtroom
before admonishing prosecutor Ernie Norris for alluding to the torture
allegations in his closing arguments.
Then Ideman called the jurors back and told them he had dismissed the
torture allegations and to disregard Norris' arguments. That angered
Norris who said he will try to appeal the judge's decision.
Deputy Public Defender Alan Gelfand, the attorney representing
Shivers, criticized the decision by prosecutors to pursue the torture
allegations.
"It's another example of the district attorney's office being out of
control," Gelfand said. "It's unprecedented for a special circumstance to
be dismissed prior to a case going to a jury. That shows how weak their
case was."
Norris countered that the 4-page letter Shivers wrote that detailed
the vicious murder of Jeanette Cohen was proof enough he tortured her.
The torture allegation was important to the case because if convicted
of first degree murder and torture, Shivers would be eligible for the
death penalty or could face life without the possibility of parole.
Jurors will begin choosing today between convicting Shivers of first
degree or second degree murder. If convicted of first degree murder,
Shivers faces 25 years to life in prison. Second degree murder carries a
penalty of 15 years to life.
Shivers' role in the death of Cohen is not in question because Gelfand
has conceded Shivers killed Cohen. What's at issue is whether Shivers
killed her in a moment of passion or if he calculatingly and deliberately
planned to murder her with malice.
In a 5-page letter to Ideman, Cohen's mother, brother and their
spouses urged Ideman to reconsider his decision and let jurors decide if
Shivers tortured Jeanette Cohen.
"Without a chance for the jury to find that the special circumstance
of torture has been proven, the defendant, even if convicted and
incarcerated, will someday become eligible for parole or other release.
