On this date, 2 March 2008,
17-year-old Jamiel Shaw II was shot dead by a Mexican gang member, Pedro
Espinoza. Prosecutors say Espinoza attacked Shaw, who was 17, because he was
black. Prosecutors also said Espinoza mistook him for a gang rival based on the
red Spider-Man backpack Shaw was wearing. Shaw's family wore red at the
courthouse in support.
We will post several news sources
with photos and endorse Jamiel’s Law, before giving our comments and
condolences.
Jamiel Andre Shaw II was a kid who, by all
accounts, did things the right way. (SOURCE: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/gallery/enlargePhoto?id=3289515&story=3289490)
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Jury orders death penalty for killer of Jamiel Shaw II
Pedro Espinoza shot Shaw, a high school football star whom he mistook for a rival gang member, in 2008.
By Victoria Kim, Los Angeles TimesMay 24, 2012
A
23-year-old gang member who shot and killed a high school football star he
mistook for a rival gangster in 2008 should be put to death, a Los Angeles jury
decided Wednesday.
Jurors
reached the verdict after about a week of testimony in the penalty phase of the
trial for Pedro Espinoza, a member of the 18th Street gang. The panel was asked
to decide what punishment Espinoza should receive for the slaying of
17-year-old Jamiel Shaw II.
Prosecutors
said Shaw was killed execution-style because he was a young black male carrying
a red Spider-Man backpack, which led Espinoza to believe he was a Bloods gang
member. The same jury earlier this month convicted Espinoza of first-degree
murder in Shaw's death and found true special allegations that he acted as part
of a gang and personally discharged a firearm, making him subject to the death
penalty.
Espinoza,
hair slicked back on his once-shaved head with the tattoo "BK" — for
Blood Killer — still visible behind his left ear, looked up at the ceiling just
before the verdict was read and bit his lips. He showed no reaction at the
verdict.
In
the gallery, a smile spread across Shaw's mother's face and his father nodded
his head. Most family members wore red, which they previously said was in
protest of Espinoza.
"I
hope he leaves prison the same way my son came into the mortuary — in a
casket," the teen's father, Jamiel Shaw Sr., said outside court.
He
quietly told his deceased son during the verdict: "We did it. Your life
wasn't in vain."
The
younger Shaw was shot down the street from his Arlington Heights home. Espinoza
jumped out of a car and asked the teen for his gang affiliation and fired a
shot into his stomach. He then walked around Shaw's body and fired a second
time into his head, prosecutors said.
During
the penalty phase, prosecutors called to the stand jail guards to attest to
Espinoza's continued violent behavior even after he was arrested on murder
charges. He assaulted a fellow inmate with a razor and attacked a sheriff's
deputy, Deputy Dist. Atty. Bobby Grace said.
Jurors
also heard testimony from probation officers from Espinoza's days at juvenile
camp. One of them recalled how during an exercise in a counseling session,
Espinoza was asked to choose a color. He chose his gang's color, blue, and said
he would choose it even if it meant being sent to death row, according to
testimony, prosecutors said.
"It
shows the defendant had aspired to get where he is today," Deputy Dist.
Atty. Allyson Ostrowski said after Wednesday's verdict.
Espinoza's
defense attorney, Csaba Palfi, said his client was a product of a difficult,
underprivileged youth. His mother came to the U.S. illegally when Espinoza was
a baby to escape an abusive partner, only to end up with another who was just
as abusive, Palfi said.
The
attorney said that in contrast with Shaw's upbringing, it was clear what led
Espinoza down the criminal path.
Shaw
"had a loving family, a supportive family who made sure he made good
choices, made good friends. Pedro didn't have that," Palfi said outside
court.
He
also painted his client as but a small piece of a larger social problem.
"Killing
Mr. Espinoza in however many years ... is not going to fix anything, it's not
going to stop the young men and women from joining gangs," he said.
Espinoza
is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 21.
Copyright © 2012, Los Angeles Times
Judge Agrees With Jury's
Death Sentence Recommendation in Jamiel Shaw Murder
Pedro Espinoza gets death in the 2008 slaying of
Jamiel Shaw, a promising football player
| Friday, Nov 2, 2012 | Updated 10:50
PM PST
A
Los Angeles Superior Court judge agreed with a jury's recommendation that a
gang member convicted in the execution-style slaying of standout high school
football player Jamiel Shaw receive the death penalty.
After
emotional testimony from Shaw's family in a Los Angeles courtroom on Friday,
Judge Ronald Rose issued the sentence to Pedro Espinoza, a 23-year-old gang
member.
A
jury in May recommended death for Espinoza, who was convicted of first-degree
murder for what prosecutors said was the "cold-blooded, calculated
execution" of Shaw outside the teen's Arlington Heights home on March 2,
2008.
Four
days before voters are expected to decide whether to abolish the death penalty,
Shaw’s family stood in solidarity at the courthouse, voicing support for the
maximum penalty currently allowed by law.
"If you murdered somebody, you should be murdered too," said Jamiel Shaw
Sr., who said he was voting against Prop. 34 on Nov. 6 which would abolish
California’s death penalty. “My son got the death
penalty, but we can't give it to them? Because it hurts? They don't think it
didn't hurt my son?"
When
asked if she views the sentencing as the end of the ordeal, Jamiel Shaw’s
mother, Anita said, “It better be. Enough is
enough."
Jamiel
Shaw’s aunt, Althea, pushed for the death sentence.
"It’s not like we'll go ‘Whoo!’ if he gets he gets the death
penalty,”
she said. “We just feel that it's appropriate for the
way Jamiel was murdered."
Prosecutors
say Espinoza attacked Shaw, who was 17, because he was black. Prosecutors also
said Espinoza mistook him for a gang rival based on the red Spider-Man backpack
Shaw was wearing. Shaw's family wore red at the courthouse in support.
Shaw
was an honor's student at Los Angeles High School. He was was not in a gang.
Rutgers and Stanford were among the universities recruiting him.
During
the court hearing on Friday, Judge Ronald Rose denied Espinoza's motions for a
new trial and a new attorney, saying he had ineffective counsel and he didn't
get a fair trial.
During
the sentencing phase of the trial, an Espinoza attorney M. David Houchin, said
he was “not trying in any way to excuse Pedro Espinoza” but asked jurors to
recommend a life prison sentence for his client, according to City News
Service.
“My
plea for Mr. Espinoza's life is not a plea for leniency,” Houchin said, arguing
that the death penalty “should be meted out to the worst in our society.”
Shaw's
parents have campaigned for a law that would enable police to arrest undocumented
immigrant gang members and them turn in to federal authorities.
Espinoza
was living in the United States illegally and had been released from jail on a
conviction for brandishing a weapon before the Shaw slaying.
The
judge could sentence Espinoza to either death or life in prison without parole.
The decision comes four days before California voters decide whether to abolish the death penalty.
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Jamiel-Shaw-Pedro-Espinoza-Slaying-Sentencing-176962081.html
Jamiel Shaw, father of murder victim Jamiel
Shaw Jr., reacts to the verdict that Pedro Espinoza was found guilty for his
son's death, Wednesday, May 9, 2012, in a Los Angeles courtroom. At right is
Jamiel Shaw Jr.,'s mother, Anita Shaw. Prosecutors said Shaw was gunned down.
(SOURCE: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/02/pedro-espinoza-sentence_n_2066907.html#slide=1715384)
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Pedro Espinoza Sentence: Judge Refuses New Trial But Considers Modifying Death Sentence Recommendation
By LINDA DEUTSCH 11/02/12 08:38 PM ET
EDT
LOS
ANGELES — A gang member who killed a promising Los Angeles High School football
player because he believed the athlete's red Spider-Man backpack linked him to
an opposing gang was sentenced to death on Friday.
Pedro
Espinoza had told authorities he was willing to kill for his gang, even if it
meant going to death row.
Superior
Court Judge Ronald H. Rose imposed that very sentence – ordering Espinoza taken
to San Quentin State Prison. The judge rejected defense arguments that the
23-year-old didn't get a fair trial.
"The
evidence is clear he decided to murder the victim in cold blood and bragged
about the killing after," Rose said. "The defendant executed the
victim as he lay on the ground defenseless."
Jamiel
Shaw II was a 17-year-old standout running back when he was gunned down in
2008. He was not a gang member.
His
parents and friends appeared in court Friday wearing red. They said it wasn't
to symbolize a gang – but for "the blood spilled."
"You don't have a right to execute someone and then come in and
plead not to be executed," said Jamiel Shaw Sr., the father of the victim.
Shaw
said he devoted his life to preparing his son for a brilliant athletic career.
"We really thought we had a chance," he said. "My son was groomed to succeed."
Anita
Shaw, a U.S. Army sergeant, told of being in Iraq on her second tour of duty
when she was summoned by her commander and told that her son had been murdered.
"I
lost it," she said. She invoked scripture, saying she knew she was
supposed to forgive – but "I'm not that strong of a person."
Espinoza
didn't move and didn't look at Shaw's parents as they spoke.
The
judge noted that Espinoza had been released from jail shortly before the
killing on an unrelated charge and had been counseled by an officer who warned
him of the consequences of further criminal behavior.
Rose
urged the family to focus on raising their 13-year-old son, Thomas, who also
attended the sentencing. Shaw said outside court he would do that but feels the
gang situation has changed parenting.
"You're
not raising them anymore," he said. "You're trying to keep them
alive."
Anita Shaw, mother of murder victim Jamiel
Shaw Jr., reacts to the verdict, Wednesday May 9, 2012, in a Los Angeles
courtroom. LA jurors found 23-year-old Pedro Espinoza guilty of killing her
son. Prosecutors said Shaw, a standout Los Angeles High School football player
four years. (SOURCE: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/02/pedro-espinoza-sentence_n_2066907.html#slide=1715386)
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Gang member sentenced to death for Jamiel Shaw slaying
By Fred Shuster, City News
Service
Posted: 11/02/2012
08:30:07 PM PDT
Updated: 11/02/2012
09:01:00 PM PDT
LOS
ANGELES - A gang member who gunned down a Los Angeles High School football
standout near his Arlington Heights home because he was carrying a red
Spider-Man backpack was sentenced to death today.
Jurors
recommended in May that Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ronald H. Rose impose
the death sentence on Pedro Espinoza, 23, who was convicted of first-degree
murder for the March 2, 2008, shooting death of Jamiel Shaw Jr., 17.
Jurors
also found true the special circumstance allegation that the murder was carried
out to further the activities of a criminal street gang. Prosecutors alleged
that Espinoza shot Shaw to improve his status in the gang.
In
rejecting a defense request for a reduced sentence, Superior Court Judge Ronald
Rose said Espinoza murdered "a defenseless victim in cold blood" and
bragged about it.
Shaw, who
was unarmed and had no gang ties, was "executed" as he lay "defenseless
and incapacitated on the ground ... in front of the family home," Rose
said. The judge described the victim as "a good, decent teenage boy."
Shaw was
shot once in the head and once in the abdomen. The teenager, who had a
collection of Spider-Man items in his bedroom, had been walking home carrying a
Spider-Man backpack that made Espinoza mistakenly perceive him as a gang rival,
according to prosecutors.
Espinoza
sat motionless, showing no apparent reaction during the hearing.
Before
pronouncing sentence, Rose also rejected a defense motion for a new trial in
the case.
As
part of the motion, Espinoza attorney Csaba Palfi argued that one of the jurors
wore red to the trial at least once, indicating prejudice against his client
and sympathy with the prosecution.
"I
don't think he got a fair trial," Palfi said.
Deputy
District Attorney Bobby Grace, however, countered that Palfi was attempting to
use a "fashion police defense," adding that "jurors can wear
whatever they want to wear."
The
judge said ordering jurors to not to wear certain colors would be akin to
"turning power over to the gangs."
Family
members of the victim, many wearing red, wept as Rose described the murder.
Shaw
had encountered Espinoza on the sidewalk and "tried to walk around
him," the judge said. At that point, "the defendant pulled a gun,
shot him in the stomach, then walked around him and put a bullet in his
head."
Rose
said he imagined Shaw's last emotions were fear and sheer confusion as to why
this was happening.
In
victim impact statements prior to sentencing, Shaw's parents spoke briefly.
The
boy's mother, Anita Shaw, was serving with the U.S. Army in Iraq when she was
told of her eldest son's death.
"I
still don't understand why it happened," she said.
Her husband, Jamiel Shaw Sr.,
said Espinoza thought he was "big, bad Pedro. But now that it's time for
judgment day, he doesn't want to be executed."
Like all
death penalty proceedings, the Espinoza case is subject to automatic appeal to
the California Supreme Court.
During
the trial, Deputy District Attorney Allyson Ostrowski told jurors that
Espinoza, a Latino, "chose to execute a 17-year-old for the color of his
skin and the color of his backpack," calling the slaying of Shaw, who was
black, a "cold-blooded, calculated execution."
Jurors
also heard a Probation Department employee's account that Espinoza -- while a
teenager in a juvenile camp -- said he was "down for death row."
Ostrowski said the remark "definitely showed that the defendant had
aspired to get to where he is today."
Another
of Espinoza's attorneys, M. David Houchin, had asked jurors to recommend a life
prison sentence for his client.
"My
plea for Mr. Espinoza's life is not a plea for leniency," Houchin said,
arguing that the death penalty "should be meted out to the worst in our
society."
Jamiel
Shaw Sr. had told jurors that his son's athletic prowess had attracted interest
from numerous universities, including Stanford and Rutgers, and that the four
years since the slaying had been "a nightmare."
CHECK THIS VIDEO:
AP Photo/Damian DovarganesFriends, teammates,
neighbors and members of the community rallied together after the murder of
Jamiel Shaw. (SOURCE: http://espn.go.com/high-school/football/story/_/id/3533277/shaw-death-shocks-la-community/)
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JAMIEL’S LAW (SOURCE: http://isupportjamielslaw.com/)
Jamiel was a happy teenager! He is
loved by so many!! He had a smile that could light up your heart. Jamiel was
only 17 years old when his life was suddenly taken.
The morning Jamiel was murdered, he
participated in an invitational only weekend football training program. This
program prepares top high school football players for college football. In
addition, it helps prepare the young players for a possible career in the NFL.
Jamiel was enjoying life. He was doing things he loved to do! He played football, basketball, baseball, the piano and he ran track! He attended Church on a regular bases and he read his bible too. A matter of fact, a few days before his murder, Jamiel was asking one of his Aunt’s a bible question about Abraham’s son, Isaac.
Jamiel Andre’ Shaw, II, was brutally assassinated on March 2nd, 2008. In the early evening on March 2nd, Jamiel was returning home from the Beverly Center Mall. He was walking from the bus stop when his father (Jamiel Sr.), called him on his cell phone, "Be right home dad, I’m right around the corner”, he said. He was just three houses from his home when his life on earth tragically ended.
Jamiel was shot twice, although there were three entry wounds. The first bullet went through his hand and then entered his stomach. The second bullet landed in Jamiel’s head. Just twenty to thirty minutes after the shooting, the defendant charged with murdering Jamiel, was found making out in a Culver City Park. He was told by the Officers to leave the park because the park had closed. However, the Culver City Police Officers did write down the license plate number of the vehicle the defendant was in.
Jamiel was always very concerned about his mother, Army Sgt. Anita Shaw, returning home from the war zone!!
He was so looking forward to seeing his mother! Anita did return home early from Iraq, but only to bury her first born Son, who couldn’t even make it home from the Beverly Center Mall in California.
The defendant has a long criminal history and he is a known documented gang member. He was released from jail on the evening of Saturday, March 1, 2008, on prior gun charges. He is charged with murdering Jamiel Andre’ Shaw, II, on March 2, 2008 and he reported to his Probation Officer on March 3, 2008.
The defendant is now in custody awaiting trial for murdering Jamiel. If he is found guilty, he will receive the death penalty. However, being in jail for murder didn’t seem to bother the defendant. He has since picked up "5" additional charges! All felonies. He assaulted a Sheriff Deputy; He reached his hand through his jail cell and slashed the face of an inmate, with a razor, while the inmate was handcuffed and being escorted by a Sheriff Deputy; He incited a riot; and he had 2 fights with other inmates.
The family of Jamiel Andre’ Shaw, II, continues to miss him deeply!!!! We are Angry! Very Angry!
If you support Jamiel's Law and want to do your part to deport illegal aliens in gangs, please follow us on twitter! Following us on twitter will keep you informed on when we will begin gathering signatures again. You will also be the first to hear the status regarding the criminal and the civil cases. If you want to follow us on twitter click here
If you helped The Shaw Family in any
way, shape, form or fashion, "On behalf of Jamiel's family, Thank You!!
And May The Creator Of Heaven And Earth, Bless You And Bless Us!"
Jamiel Andre’ Shaw, II, (Jas), was a
very talented Athlete at Los Angeles High School. He was clearly on his way to
College and to the NFL!
We believe Jas was murdered because of
the color of his skin. It was a hate crime! Jas did NOT have a criminal record.
Jas was not in a gang database. Jas was NEVER detained by ANY Law Enforcement
Officer or any School Police. Jas was innocent and he still is! He was an
American citizen and he didn't deserve to be murdered!!!! Especially, by an
illegal alien gangbanger who should never of been in the United States of
America! The defendant was negligently released from jail 24 hours before he
murdered Jas. The family of Jamiel Shaw II, will continue to stand for His
Justice!!
What would you do if your love one was murdered and you later found out that the defendant who murdered your love one was in the Country illegally?
In addition, you found out that the defendant was also in custody by Law Enforcement and negligently released back into the community 24 hours before he murdered your love one!
Jamiel’s
Law http://bit.ly/dqQ6c4 was written in
honor of Jamiel Andre’ Shaw, II. The family affectionately called Jamiel “Jas”
and many of his friends called him, “Wilshire”.
Jamiel's Law was written by lawyer and former mayoral candidate, Walter Moore. As many of you know, we did not get Jamiel's Law on the ballot in 2009. If you signed the Jamiel's Law Petition and/or helped to gather signatures, on behalf of Jamiel's family, "Thank You"! We're very sorry things didn't work out the way we planned. Nevertheless, we want to thank all of you for working so hard!!
All we can do now is move Jamiel's Law forward! Move forward in a more organized manner, documenting the process every step of the way! For those who don't know, Jamiel's Law will target illegal alien gangs! Many criminal alien gang members are living openly in our communities. Jamiel's Law will change this!
There are statistics to show that 80% or more of these illegal alien gangs, (18th street & ms13,etc.,), are living in the United States illegally. Law Enforcement is aware of this fact, as well as Local Politicians.
For more information on criminal aliens, click here:
COMMENTS
AND CONDOLENCES:
We will not forget Jamiel Shaw II
and we will miss his baseball skills and everything good about him. We urged
everybody to remember the way he live and not how he died. Sadly, Pedro
Espinoza was unrepentant and he is still a threat to society, even behind bars.
We do hope that California can fix their death penalty law and not delay his
execution. We encourage people to vote for Jamiel’s Law.
Abolitionists claim that the death
penalty is racist, in the sense that the death sentence would not be imposed if
the victim was an African-American, but other than learning about the execution of Troy Davis and Lawrence Brewer, Espinoza was a Hispanic man sentenced to
death for killing an African American. If the system is racist, end racism not
the death penalty. If prisons are racist, we eliminate the racism, not empty
the prisons. We, Victims’ Families For the Death Penalty, care for victims and
their families, regardless of race and country. We are not racist.
We know
that Espinoza was the last man sentenced to death before Proposition 34 was
defeated. We prayed to God to defeat that abolition campaign and our prayers
were answered.
We will be
commending two prayers from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer for Jamiel Shaw II
and his family:
A Prayer for All Conditions of Men:
O God, the
Creator and Preserver of all mankind, we humbly beseech thee for all sorts and
conditions of men; that thou wouldest be pleased to make thy ways known unto
them, thy saving health unto all nations. More especially we pray for thy holy
Church universal; that it may be so guided and governed by thy good Spirit,
that all who profess and call themselves Christians may be led into the way of
truth, and hold the faith in unity of spirit, in the bond of peace, and in
righteousness of life. Finally, we commend to thy fatherly goodness all those
who are in any ways afflicted or distressed, in mind, body, or estate;
[especially those for whom our prayers are desired]; that it may please thee to
comfort and relieve them according to their several necessities, giving them
patience under their sufferings, and a happy issue out of all their
afflictions. And this we beg for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.
Burial
of the Dead 1662:
ALMIGHTY
God, with whom do live the spirits of them that depart hence in the Lord, and
with whom the souls of the faithful, after they are delivered from the burden
of the flesh, are in joy and felicity: We give thee hearty thanks, for that it
hath pleased thee to deliver this our brother out of the miseries of this sinful
world; beseeching thee that it may please thee, of thy gracious goodness,
shortly to accomplish the number of thine elect, and to hasten thy kingdom;
that we, with all those that are departed in the true faith of thy holy Name,
may have our perfect consummation and bliss, both in body and soul, in thy
eternal and everlasting glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Please go here to see the funeral photos of Jamiel Shaw
II.
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