Prosecution asks for the "Death Penalty" for Gang Member responsible for the '49th Street Massacre

’49th Street Massacre’ killer should die, prosecutor says

Jack Leonard (Los Angeles Times) | June 5, 2013

A gang member convicted of fatally shooting four people — including a 10-year-old boy riding a bicycle outside his home — deserves to die for his crimes, a prosecutor told jurors Wednesday.

Los Angeles County Deputy Dist. Atty. Amy Ashvanian said Charles Ray Smith was responsible for two separate deadly shootings in 2006, including one that became known as the “49th Street Massacre” in which two men wielding AK47s opened fire on children and adults enjoying a Friday afternoon in summer on a quiet South Los Angeles street.

Ashvanian described Smith, 44, as a “predator” who showed no remorse. She said he told one associate after the 49th Street shooting: “If they’re old enough to shoot, they’re old enough to get shot.” In an earlier shooting, she said, Smith killed a man returning home with milk for his family.

“Did he show any mercy to any of the victims?” the prosecutor asked during her closing argument. “These are the crimes that deserve the ultimate, the highest punishment … which is death.”

But Smith’s attorneys urged the jury to spare their client, questioning whether he was involved in the killings.

They said jurors should also consider a variety of disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder brought on by his upbringing. They said his afflictions warped Smith’s view of the world, impaired his logic and made him react impulsively. Smith, they said, was raised by parents who were heavy drinkers when he was a child and who were addicted to crack cocaine when he was a teenager. Attorney James Bisnow told jurors that all four of Smith’s brothers ended up in jail or prison.

“No one survived that home,” Bisnow said.