Good side of CHP killer up to defense to bring forward at penalty phase
By Carlos Alcalá, Sacramento Bee
Jurors in El Dorado Superior Court are likely to face a tide of emotional testimony as the penalty phase of the David Zanon murder trial gets under way this week.
Prosecutors are expected to present descriptions of Zanon’s victim – California Highway Patrol Officer Scott Russell – evoking the tragedy of a good man’s life lost.
No one disputes that he was a good man, said David Brooks, Zanon’s public defender.
Brooks, by contrast, will address his client’s troubled upbringing and will try to produce evidence that Zanon had a good side, despite his acknowledged criminal history.
“It’s going to be quite the roller coaster ride,” Brooks said.