SAN JOSE (KCBS) -- A Santa Clara County prosecutor who is now a judge may have wrongly sent a convict to death row more than 20 years ago, according to a review by the state Supreme Court.
Judge Joyce Allegro withheld evidence that Miguel Bacigalupo was ordered to kill the two men by a Colombian drug lord, according to a court-ordered investigation carried out by a retired judge.
KCBS' Matt Bigler reports
The unusual review of the case finds Allegro instead portrayed Bacigalupo as a cold blooded killer. He is on death row for the 1983 slaying of two brothers inside the jewelry store they owned.
Steven Clark, an attorney in San Jose who is not connected to the case, noted how rare it is for the California Supreme Court to launch such a vigorous investigation of complaints of prosecutorial misconduct.
“What you’re seeing,” he told KCBS reporter Matt Bigler, “is a concern by the courts and the community that people on death row receive a fair trial, and it’s never too late to go back and revisit those issues.”
It’s now up to the justices to decide whether the death penalty should be reconsidered.
Judge Allegro could be disciplined by the Commission on Judicial Performance.
(jro)
Print Story
DW.pageParams = {
siteId: '255'
};
DW.clear();
DW.trackClicks();
