Home › News › Conejo Valley
Decision on death penalty is pending
Calvin Sharp is charged for the slaying of 6-year-old boy
Download this story as a podcast!
STORY TOOLS 
More from Conejo ValleyInformation being gathered by lawyers representing murder suspect Calvin Sharp will help prosecutors make a decision on whether to seek the death penalty, an official said Thursday.
Sharp allegedly killed 6-year-old Sev'n Molina with a meat clever in August in Newbury Park.
Sharp appeared in court Thursday and again had his arraignment postponed to give more time for his lawyers to gather information from defense experts.
Ventura County Superior Court Judge Kevin McGee set an arraignment date for Nov. 17.
Outside the courtroom, prosecutor Maeve Fox said she expects a trial date to be set after Sharp is arraigned.
The district attorney hasn't decided whether to seek the death penalty, Fox said. She expects Sharp's lawyers to share information with the district attorney so prosecutors can make a better decision on whether the death penalty is applicable in the case, she said.
Neither Fox nor Sharp's lawyer, Todd Howeth with the Public Defender's Office, would say whether some or any of those reports will come from mental health experts.
When asked whether he was considering entering a not guilty plea by reason of insanity for his client, Howeth replied: "We will consider all possible pleas that benefit our client."
On May 8, prosecutors unsealed the indictment against Sharp, who is in custody.
Sharp faces numerous felony charges, including two new counts of aggravated mayhem allegedly committed against the boy's mother, Sandra Ruiz, and Ruiz's neighbor, Dianne Cox, who intervened to end the attack.
Sharp, 28, faces a charge of murder with the use of a deadly weapon with two special circumstances: that the murder was committed during the course of a burglary and that it was committed in the course of another felony mayhem, Fox said.
Sharp also was indicted on two counts of attempted murder committed against Ruiz and Cox, Fox said.
Prosecutors also allege Sharp used a weapon and caused great bodily injury while committing the crimes against Ruiz and Cox. He also is charged with felony cruelty to an animal, stemming from the killing of his own dog, Knuckles, Fox said.
A Grand Jury indictment means the defendant won't have a preliminary hearing, sparing witnesses from having to testify before trial.
Posted by sslocal on May 30, 2008 at 10:28 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I cannot believe they are debating this. This crime deserves the death penalty. They should never have deactivated the electric chair in San Quinten.
Posted by smithjc on May 30, 2008 at 11:11 a.m. (Suggest removal)
i'm still trying to come up with any kind of reason that they shouldn't seek the death penalty for this piece of filth. i don't want to share my air with him.
btw, sslocal, to the best of my knowledge, kalifornia has never used ol' sparky. prior to lethal injection, we used the gas chamber. when those cyanide pellets would hit the acid bath we used to sing "plop plop fizz fizz, oh what a relief it is".
Posted by Ms_California on May 30, 2008 at 12:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Um hellloooo! there is no question here that this made should be put to death, swiftly, painfully and unhumanily!
Posted by luv2sail on May 30, 2008 at 12:50 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Didn't realize California had a death penalty, merely an extended stay sentence with numerous appeals. Now China, on the other hand, they have a death penalty.
Posted by DoctorDude on May 30, 2008 at 8:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)
nice to see the vampires are out in force posting their bloodthirsty appeals to kill this loser. I'd imagine you're probably all fine upstanding christian republicans to boot.
Posted by sparks240 on June 1, 2008 at 10:27 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The death penalty is worthless if they don't actually kill anyone.
Posted by Kreemac70 on June 2, 2008 at 11:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I lived at Hillcrest Park Apartments when this happended, and although I am not necessarily for or against the death penalty...if you had seen the mess that this monster created which resulted in the death of that 6 year old child, you would not hesitate for one moment to say "Death Penalty". I feel that this would be justified and serve justice. Although, death for this monster seems like the easy way out for him at the same time.... again, I can't decide whether I am for or against it. Part of me thinks that making him suffer in prison would be a better punishment. Then again, our tax dollars are now feeding and clothing him. Argh! Tough call.
(Requires free registration.)
Article discussions on this site are to support community debates of issues related to our stories and editorials.
Discussions should not stray from the subject of the story or editorial.
We do not allow the following:
We reserve the right to delete threads and/or ban users for these or other reasons we deem necessary.
Opinions are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.