SACRAMENTO, May 5 (UPI) -- The California Supreme Court has denied an appeal by the only San Francisco defendant now under a death sentence in the state.
The court, in a ruling Monday, rejected a claim that Jose Sarria, a longtime gay rights activist who served on the jury at Clifford Bolden's 1991 trial, engaged in misconduct.
One juror, who has since died, reported that Sarria said he had known the victim, Henry Pedersen, and concealed the information from the judge.
Bolden, now 57, was convicted of robbing and killing Pedersen after the two men met in a bar on Castro Street in 1986. Since 1995, San Francisco has had district attorneys who do not seek the death penalty on principle, leaving Bolden as the only inmate of the 680 on Death Row from the city.
The Supreme Court unanimously upheld a finding by a lower court judge that Sarria was credible when he denied knowing Pedersen.
