The Supreme Court today affirms the death sentence in People v. Capers for crimes the court summarizes this way:  “defendant and three accomplices entered the Barstow T-shirt shop owned by married couple Nathaniel and Consuelo Young, robbed the store, shot and killed Nathaniel, and raped and beat Consuelo before killing her.  They then set fire to both victims’ bodies.”

Among other things, the court’s unanimous opinion by Justice Ming Chin rejects the defendant’s argument that he was wrongly denied the chance to call a witness who refused to testify based on her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and to whom the prosecution refused to grant immunity.