After a five-month trial and nearly four weeks of deliberations, a Yolo County jury recently convicted three suspected Woodland gang members of first-degree murder in the Halloween, 2002 shooting deaths of two men. Defendants Ernesto Duran Arellano, 34, Oscar Hurtado Cervantes, 32, and James Joseph Olague, 29, were convicted of first-degree murder in the killings of Woodland residents Eric Eugene Folsom, 17, and Robert Michael Stepper, 20. The three also were convicted of attempted murder in the cases of two 14-year-old girls who were shot, but survived.

Olague, who is believed to have been the lookout, faces life in prison, and is seeking a new trial. A hearing on the motion is scheduled for July 28. Arellano and Cervantes both face the death penalty, before an all-white jury. Jeff Reisig, who is the Yolo County DA, based his recent election campaign in large part on his success in prosecuting this case.

The penalty phase in this case will last until roughly mid-July. The penalty phase is when family and supporters try to convince the jury that Arellano and Cervantes are valuable to society and should not be sentenced to death. Anti-death penalty organizers are calling for people to gather at the Yolo County Courthouse every Monday at 5pm, until a decision is made. Read more about this case Amnesty International has pointed out that the death penalty is not a deterrent to people committing homicide.

More info about the death penalty | National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty