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Timestamp: 2019-04-23 08:42:44+00:00

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THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. DONALD FLOYD KETCHEL, H. B. SEARS, and THOMAS EDWARD SEARS, Defendants and Appellants.
Christian E. Markey, Jr., Thomas R. McGurrin, and Benjamin Dreyfus, under appointment by the Supreme Court, Garry, Dreyfus & McTernan and Fay Stender for Defendants and Appellants.
Stanley Mosk, Attorney General, William E. James, Assistant Attorney General, and N. Gregory Taylor, Deputy Attorney General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
We shall explain the reasons for our ruling that the judgment on the issue of guilt of all defendants should be affirmed; [59 Cal. 2d 514] that the judgment of conviction as to H. B. Sears should be affirmed, but that the judgment as to the death penalty as to Ketchel and Thomas Sears should be reversed because of the prejudicial error of the prosecution in urging the deterrent effect of such penalty.
We consider the issues tendered by appellants under the basic divisions of, first, the points urged for reversal as to the main trial on the issue of guilt; second, the points urged for reversal as to the trial on the issue of penalty; third, the contention that the court improperly refused to grant a continuance of the hearing of appellants' motions for a new trial. Since we have concluded that prejudicial error occurred in the trial on the issue of the death penalty imposed upon Ketchel and Thomas Sears, we see no reason to discuss the arguments that this court should reduce that penalty and that such penalty constitutes cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the California and United States Constitutions.
On Friday, June 9, 1961, about 8:45 p.m., Ketchel and Thomas Sears entered the Star Market in Monterey Park. Each held up a cashier at her respective checkstand near the market's entrance. Each stood with his gun in hand as he waited for the cashier to take the money from the cash drawer and put it in a brown paper bag. The two robbers left the market, each carrying his bag of money. They put their guns in their belts, apparently walked rapidly or ran through the parking lot of the market down a public alley leading into Alhambra Street. Both wore slacks, hip-length sports coats, dark glasses and hats. Meanwhile, as soon as the robbers left the checkstands, the cashiers pressed hidden emergency alarm buttons.
George Elder, a policeman of Monterey Park who was off duty and dressed in levis and T-shirt, drove into the parking lot at about the time Ketchel and Thomas Sears were approaching a shed at the end of the parking lot facing Alhambra Street. Elder parked his car, apparently saw the two robbers at some distance under suspicious circumstances, and began chasing them. As he pursued the fleeing robbers, he called out "Hold it" or "Halt," and then, when the two robbers ran between the parked cars and behind the shed, he started firing.
In the melee Ketchel and Thomas Sears separated, darting between the cars. Both were trying to reach the car they had left parked on Alhambra Street some 75 feet distant from the intersection with the alley. Ketchel fired one shot, [59 Cal. 2d 515] which struck Elder and caused him to fall to the street. As he lay there, Elder continued to fire his gun, directing his shot toward the waiting car and the two robbers who were running in that general direction. Ketchel turned into the alley, escaped down the street, and ultimately, on his own, took a cab to the town of Whittier. Thomas Sears reached the waiting car, turned and fired several shots at Elder, and then made his "getaway" in the car.
Elder was struck by two bullets, one from Ketchel's gun and one from Thomas Sears' gun; either shot was sufficient to have brought about his death. One bullet entered Elder's left cheek, cut into his tongue and produced a massive hemorrhage; the other pierced the right lung, proceeded toward the heart, and also produced a hemorrhage. The autopsy surgeon testified that in his opinion Elder did not die immediately from the bullet wounds but remained alive for a short time until the ensuing hemorrhages precluded the continuance of vital body functions. During the interval Elder retained the ability to see, hear and speak.
Several persons witnessed the shooting and surrounding events. One testified that as he stopped to help Elder who was lying in the middle of the street, Elder said, "Star Market hold-up. I have been shot. Three suspects in a '49 Ford. Call the police, call the police, call the police, call the police." Another witness said that when he approached Elder about the same time, Elder mumbled, "I'm okay. Tell them it was a ... blue and white Ford."
Other witnesses, driving from the market, heard the exchange of gunshot, turned around and saw a car speed by them through the approaching darkness without any headlights. Meanwhile the police had received the robbery alarm and began checking cars answering the general description given in the radio call. About 9:30 p.m. that evening the police stopped a maroon-colored 1949 Ford sedan, which was being driven by H. B. Sears and occupied by Thomas Sears. This interception took place 2 miles from the Star Market and a half mile from Sears' apartment. The police searched the car and interrogated the men as to their possession of concealed money or weapons; finding neither, the police, after a 10-minute check, released them both.
The record reveals some conflict as to who, at the time of the crime, June 9, 1961, owned this 1949 Ford car. According to the pink slip, Ketchel, the owner, transferred the car to [59 Cal. 2d 516] H. B. Sears on June 8, 1961, but in subsequent talks with the police H. B. Sears maintained that he did not buy the car from Ketchel until June 11, 1961. On Monday, June 12, 1961, H. B. Sears took the slip to the Department of Motor Vehicles for transfer.
This 1949 car apparently was damaged at the scene of the shooting; one bullet pierced the windshield and another struck and dented the left rear door. The police officers who, on the night of the crime, stopped the car, did not notice the damage to the windshield but did see the dented rear door. H. B. Sears admitted that on Saturday, June 10, he and Ketchel changed the windshield and that, a few days later, he painted the car with a white primer.
Ketchel and H. B. Sears were arrested in Whittier on June 15, 1961. Ketchel voluntarily confessed his part in the crimes but H. B. Sears denied all involvement, maintaining that during the entire evening of June 9 he had been with his girl friend or with his brother Tommy, and had spent a good deal of the time at a bowling alley.
Thomas Sears was apprehended in Phoenix, Arizona, and on June 17, 1961, three California police officers visited him in jail there. At that time he voluntarily made a confession setting forth in some detail the circumstances of the robbery and murder. He stated that H. B. Sears, Ketchel and he had decided on the afternoon of June 9, 1961, to rob a small market. They "cased" the area near their apartment and finally selected the Star Market. H. B. Sears drove the car and about 8:30 p.m. parked on Alhambra Street near the market. Thomas Sears and Ketchel, both carrying guns, left the car, entered and robbed the market. While walking through the parking lot toward the alley leading into Alhambra Street, they heard the shots fired in their direction; they started running. In the fracas Thomas Sears saw Ketchel lean against a tree and thought that he had been shot. Meanwhile Thomas Sears saw a bullet strike the waiting 1949 car, and, thinking that the man firing was trying to shoot his brother, H. B. Sears, in the car, Thomas Sears returned the gunfire, emptying his gun. Thomas Sears then entered the car with his brother H. B. Sears, and they drove from the scene, leaving Ketchel on his own in the street. Later the three met and divided the money (some $954).
The Los Angeles police officers returned with Thomas Sears to Los Angeles. On June 18, 1961, Ketchel, Thomas Sears and H. B. Sears were brought together in a room of the Los [59 Cal. 2d 517] Angeles Sheriff's substation. Three police officers interviewed them for about 20 minutes and then left them alone in the room. The three men discussed the crime; a tape recording was made of their conversation; one of the police officers heard their talk through a loud speaker which was part of the recording equipment. In the conversation, Ketchel said, "I copped out to my part. I copped out to nothing else. They got me cold." H. B. Sears then said, "I've been holding out ... I didn't know what the hell this was all about. I been holding out on account of you guys. I don't know what this is all about." Ketchel retorted, "I'm dead ... Somebody's going to get gassed." H. B. Sears replied, "All right. You guys go on. Sign your statement. Get gas. But I've been holding out because I don't know what's going on. They said you killed a man. Well, I didn't kill nobody." As the conversation progressed, Thomas Sears said, "I know you didn't. I told them the truth. I did it man."
At the trial H. B. Sears testified in his own defense. He stated that in the evening of June 9, 1961, he arranged to meet a couple of girls at a bowling alley. While he was driving there with his brother, they were stopped by the police about 9:30 p.m., the car was searched, and after some 10 minutes checking they were released. Both then returned to their apartment, left the car, and proceeded by taxi to the bowling alley; since the girls did not come they returned about midnight to their apartment.
We turn to an analysis of the points urged by appellants for reversal as to the main trial on the issue of guilt.
1. The alleged improper admission into evidence of the transcript of the tape recording.
a. The alleged lack of foundation for admission of the transcript.
[2a] Appellants contend that the trial court erred in admitting into evidence a transcript of a tape recording of the conversation of the three appellants which occurred when they were left alone in a room at the sheriff's substation. They claim that the prosecution did not lay a proper foundation for the admission of the transcript, that its content was unintelligible and that its introduction violated the best evidence rule. We shall explain why we have found no prejudicial error in any of these respects.
Officer Brown listened to appellants' conversation over a loudspeaker; simultaneously the conversation was tape recorded. [59 Cal. 2d 518] About a week later Officer Brown, Officer Lawton and a reporter spent approximately three days playing and replaying the recording in an attempt to decipher the tape, identify the voices and distinguish the conversation; they then dictated their findings to the reporter. The recorded conversation lasted 45 minutes or an hour.
At the trial all counsel requested that the trial judge hear the tape and determine the authenticity of the transcript as compared with the tape recording. The trial judge refused, saying, "I can't make rulings on tape recordings. I have listened to these tape recordings many times ... most of them are unintelligible, many of them." Instead, the trial judge took a copy of the transcript, marked portions that were admissible as purported admissions or confessions, and deleted other portions that consisted of vulgar expressions or profanity.
Officer Brown took the witness stand to verify the transcript. He stated that the transcript correctly represented the conversation that he had heard over the loudspeaker; that he was sufficiently familiar with the voices of the three appellants to be able to distinguish them. He then read from the transcript the marked portions that the trial judge had ruled admissible.
 Concededly, as a foundation for its admission, the accuracy of the transcript of a tape recording must first be established. (People v. Wojahn (1959) 169 Cal. App. 2d 135, 146 [337 P.2d 192].)  While ordinarily a trial judge will listen to a tape recording to determine the accuracy of the transcription (ibid), this procedure does not constitute the exclusive method for establishing its authenticity. In People v. Wootan (1961) 195 Cal. App. 2d 481 [15 Cal. Rptr. 833], an officer who listened to the conversation at the time of the recording testified that the transcript of the recording accurately reflected the discussion. [2b] In the instant case, before the reading of the transcript, Officer Brown testified to its accuracy.
Appellant points out that the force of Wootan is weakened by the fact that defendant there testified that the transcription was accurate; we note that the case nevertheless illustrates the use of the officer for that purpose. Appellants also point out that the court in Wootan said: "Inasmuch as the point is not urged on the appeal that the record of the conversation was so incomplete as to be without evidentiary value, we pass that question without discussion." (P. 485.) [59 Cal. 2d 519] We do not believe, however, that appellants could successfully demonstrate that the record here is so incomplete as to be without evidentiary value. In short, we cannot find that prejudicial error derives from the fact that the court did not compare the transcript with the recording in a situation in which the officer who actually heard the conversation when it was recorded, testified to the accuracy of the transcript.
 Finally, as to appellants' third contention that the transcript could not be admitted because it was not the best evidence, we have concluded that since recordings or the written transcript of them are "more reliable and satisfactory evidence than testimony of conversations given from memory by those who overheard them" (People v. Stephens (1953) 177 Cal. App. 2d 653, 660 [256 P.2d 1033]; People v. Wojahn, supra, p. 146) the transcript was admissible in evidence.
b. The alleged fraud and trickery in obtaining the tape recording.
 After talking with appellants for some 20 minutes about the crimes charged, the police officers left appellants in the room so they could supposedly talk alone. The room had been wired to record their conversation. Appellants argue [59 Cal. 2d 520] that the deceit of the police officers resulted in the production of statements of appellants that were fraudulently induced and involuntarily rendered, and that as such the statements should have been excluded. If the prosecution could not properly introduce a confession obtained by coercion, appellants contend, the prosecution should not be permitted to adduce admissions procured by fraud and trickery. As to this proposition appellant Thomas Sears recognizes with commendable frankness that "this court has previously indicated otherwise." We proceed to explain why we cannot hold the trial court committed prejudicial error in admitting the evidence.
Only recently in a case in which defendant contended "that the recording was obtained by such fraud that its use as evidence was inconsistent with due process" (People v. Atchley (1959) 53 Cal. 2d 160, 171 [346 P.2d 764]) we said "The deception itself does not render defendant's statements inadmissible, for it was not of a type reasonably likely to procure an untrue statement. (People v. Connelly, 195 Cal. 584, 597 [234 P. 374]; People v. Castello, 194 Cal. 595, 602 [299 P. 855].)"
Appellants criticize the distinction drawn in the cited statement between the deception that is "likely to procure an untrue statement," and the converse (cf. People v. Castello (1924) 194 Cal. 595, 602 [229 P. 885]), contending that the issue turns not upon the possibility of falsehood but upon principles of due process, and that the United States Supreme Court cases adopt the latter approach.
We must, then, test the admissibility of the statements "on the question whether the behavior of the State's law enforcement officials was such as to overbear petitioner's will to resist and bring about confessions not freely self-determined--a question to be answered with complete disregard of whether or not petitioner in fact spoke the truth." (Rogers v. Richmond, supra, p. 544.) We shall point out why we find no showing that appellants' will to resist was so overcome here that a coerced confession resulted. Appellants urge that (1) the false statement of the police that defendants were "free" to talk, (2) the psychological relationship of Thomas Sears to his brother, and (3) the absence of counsel, served separately or cumulatively, to induce appellants to confess involuntarily and to invalidate the confessions. We cannot, however, strain the facts to fit these projected postulates.
The prior police statements as to the free use of the room could not have been such "as to overbear [appellants'] will to resist and bring about confessions not freely self-determined" (Rogers v. Richmond, supra, p. 544) because appellants themselves suspected their conversations were overheard. In the course of their conversations H. B. Sears said "... they've got the ... tape recorder going" and Thomas Sears said he wondered "where they got that ... bug at."
2. The alleged improper admission into evidence of the testimony of the deceased's widow.
 We find no prejudicial error in the prosecution's calling the deceased's widow, Mrs. Elder, as a witness, or in the alleged cumulative nature of her testimony.
Mrs. Elder testified as to the time her husband left home the evening of June 9, how he was dressed, his carrying a gun, and his state of good health at that time. She could properly testify to facts that she had perceived; her interest in the case did not affect her competency. (Code Civ. Proc., § 1879.) Apparently while on the witness stand Mrs. Elder was somewhat distraught and tearful, but the trial judge observed her conduct and refused to concur in the claims of appellants' counsel that her emotional distress disqualified her. In view of her relevant testimony and the trial judge's ruling, appellants cannot successfully rely upon alleged incidental prejudice created by her appearance.
3. The alleged error in the instructions on the murder count.
[9a] The court instructed as follows: "Murder which is committed in the perpetration or attempt to perpetrate robbery is murder of the first degree, whether the killing was intentional, unintentional or accidental." (Pen. Code, § 189.) [59 Cal. 2d 523] There are two degrees of murder, to-wit, murder in the first degree and murder in the second degree. Ordinarily a defendant may be found guilty of either degree, or may be found not guilty. However, the evidence in this case is such that considering each defendant separately, he is not guilty of the charge of murder or he is guilty of murder in the first degree." "A robbery is still in commission during the continuous integrated attempt to successfully leave with the loot."
[9b] Appellants Ketchel and Thomas Sears apparently attempt to bring themselves within the following language of People v. Boss (1930) 210 Cal. 245 [290 P. 881], at pages 250-251: "It is a sound principle of law which inheres in common reason that where two or more persons engage in a conspiracy to commit robbery and an officer or citizen is murdered while in immediate pursuit of one of their number who is fleeing from the scene of the crime with the fruits thereof in his possession, or in the possession of a coconspirator, the crime is not complete in the purview of the law, inasmuch as said conspirators have not won their way even momentarily to a place of temporary safety and the possession of the plunder is nothing more than a scrambling possession. In such a case the continuation of the use of arms which was necessary to aid the felon in reducing the property to possession is necessary to protect him in its possession and in making good his escape." (Italics added.) But under the evidence these appellants had not reached a place of temporary safety when, as they were crossing the market's parking lot after the robbery, Elder called "Halt" and then started firing his gun; they in turn sought cover among the parked cars and returned his gunfire as they desperately tried to reach their own waiting car on the adjoining street.
Two witnesses testified that they saw the two robbers run out of the store towards the shed, which was in the corner of the alley in the rear of the market and Alhambra Street; another witness testified that he saw the robbers "kind of rapidly walking" across the parking lot and about "halfway through the lot" they were "in a running state." Ketchel admitted to the police officers that "I reached the end of the alley and I heard some man yell 'Hold it.' He was running and I ducked behind a car at that time." Thomas Sears stated to the police officers that "when they reached the alley ... he heard a shot and he started running for the car. ... There was a man in the street shooting towards the car"; and Sears said he "began shooting back. ..."
[9c] To insulate the robbery from the events immediately following it, and thereby to maintain that the two appellants had reached a place of safety, severing their subsequent conduct from the robbery, is artificially to bifurcate, in disregard of the evidence, the conduct of the appellants. The jury could not reasonably find the facts which would support a judgment for second degree murder.
4. The alleged error in the rulings on the status of decedent Elder and the validity of his action as an arresting officer.
[19a] Appellants argue that the autopsy surgeon lacked the qualifications to testify either as to Elder's ability to talk or respecting his perceptive powers after being shot. In this respect they rely upon the fact that the surgeon had never treated a live person for a bullet wound.
6. The alleged error in the cumulative use of diagram of the market area.
7. The alleged denial of an unbiased, impartial jury.
Appellants argue that the trial court improperly excused prospective jurors and that in other instances, the prosecuting attorney improperly interrogated the jurors on voir dire. Although we recognize that " '[t]he right to unbiased and unprejudiced jurors is an inseparable and inalienable part of the right to a trial by jury guaranteed by the constitution.' " (People v. Elliot (1960) 54 Cal. 2d 498, 504 [6 Cal. Rptr. 753, 354 P.2d 225], quoting from Lombardi v. California St. Ry. Co. (1899) 124 Cal. 311, 317 [54 P. 66]; People v. Hughes (1961) 57 Cal. 2d 89, 97 [17 Cal. Rptr. 617, 367 P.2d 33]), we find no violation of that right in the procedure of the trial court in the case before us.
 At the beginning of the voir dire examination the trial court asked the first 12 prospective jurors: "Now, is there anybody in the jury box that has certain beliefs or disbeliefs [59 Cal. 2d 529] or scruples or in any way an opinionation or fixation that would prevent you from voting for the death penalty simply because of the fact that it is the death penalty?" Four of the jurors raised their hands in reply. The court asked for a stipulation of counsel that they be excused; counsel refused; the court excused these four jurors on its own initiative.
Under our statutory scheme, an important factor affecting the qualification of jurors in cases in which "the offense charged be punishable with death" (Pen. Code, § 1074, subd. 8) lies in whether their determination of guilt would be affected by their views of capital punishment. Such views should not obviate a meaningful choice between the alternative penalties of death and life imprisonment. (People v. Riser (1956) 47 Cal. 2d 566, 573-576 [305 P.2d 1].) In this respect the court may excuse a juror on its own motion. (Pen. Code, § 1089; People v. Green (1956) 47 Cal. 2d 209, 215-216 [302 P.2d 307].) The determination whether a juror has shown that he entertains "conscientious scruples against conviction where the penalty is death" and to refuse further examination on the point (People v. Goldensen (1888) 76 Cal. 328, 346 [19 P. 161]) reposes within the discretion of the court. The court did not abuse its discretion here in directing its questions to the four prospective jurors or in determining that they were disqualified.
8. The alleged prejudicial misconduct in prosecuting attorney's argument.
9. Ketchel's specific argument: the prosecuting attorney's comment on Ketchel's failure to take the witness stand.
 In his closing argument the prosecuting attorney stated that if Ketchel were "not guilty of murder, and if he is not guilty of robbery," he "should take the stand and say, 'I didn't do it, I didn't do it.' "
10. H. B. Sears' specific arguments.
a. The alleged insufficiency of the evidence to support a verdict of robbery and first degree murder.
 The record does not sustain H. B. Sears' argument that the verdict of robbery and first degree murder does not find substantiation in the evidence.
While it is true, as H. B. Sears states, that no one saw him at the scene of the shooting, he, himself, admits that the record shows that the dying Elder made two statements to different persons at different times concerning a Ford automobile. One such statement was "Star Market holdup. I have been shot. Three suspects in a 1949 Ford." The other was "Be sure and tell them it was a 1958 blue and white Ford Victoria." Many witnesses placed the Ford at the scene of the robbery. The pink slip stated that H. B. Sears purchased the Ford on June 8, 1961; indeed, the date on the slip was in H. B. Sears' handwriting. H. B. Sears stated "Nobody drives my car but me." Within a half hour of the shooting, two Montebello policemen stopped H. B. Sears driving the 1949 Ford about 2 miles from the Star Market. His brother, Thomas Sears, was a passenger in the car.
At the time of the shooting bullets passed through the windshield of the Ford and damaged both the windshield and the door. On June 10, 1961, H. B. Sears helped replace the windshield; during the next week he had the car repainted.
b. The alleged erroneous denial of motion to dismiss.
[29b] The grand jury transcript shows that an eyewitness to the shooting testified that he heard the dying Elder state, "Three suspects in a '49 Ford." About half an hour later the police stopped the Ford car that H. B. Sears was driving with his brother Thomas Sears as a passenger some 2 miles from the Star Market; the car was searched and the police interrogated the two men. The testifying officer stated that the car was a deep maroon, that he did not notice any bullet holes or damage to the car but that his duty was to watch "the hands and ... movements of the suspects." The Deputy Sheriff for Los Angeles County, an investigating officer in the case, testified that the records of the Department of Motor Vehicles showed that the 1949 Ford here involved was registered on June 9, 1961, the date of the robbery, to Donald Ketchel but that in an interview with H. B. Sears on June 17 following his arrest, Sears in a free and voluntary statement said that he had bought the Ford from Ketchel on June 7, that it had been in his possession since that time and that no one had driven it but himself. From this testimony the grand jury could conscientiously suspect that H. B. Sears was the driver of the "getaway" car in the Star Market robbery and thus was connected with the crimes charged.
c. The alleged improper denial of motion for separate trial.
[32a] Prior to commencement of the joint trial appellant H. B. Sears moved that he be tried separately because statements by his codefendants, particularly his brother Thomas [59 Cal. 2d 533] Sears, implicated him in the crimes charged; the statements would be admissible at a joint trial as to the codefendants making them; and they would be highly prejudicial to H. B. Sears.
d. The alleged erroneous admission of codefendant's confession.
[35a] A police officer testified as to the confession of Thomas Sears that was rendered out of the presence of H. B. Sears. In this confession Thomas Sears stated that his brother H. B. Sears "joined he and Ketchel" after they told H. B. Sears their robbery plans; that they all three left "in a car which had been purchased by the defendant H. B. Sears from the defendant Ketchel." Thomas Sears further stated to the officer that Sears fired at Elder because Sears "saw a bullet strike the car, the 1949 Ford, and he thought the man was trying to shoot his brother"; that he "got into the car and that he and the defendant H. B. Sears drove from the scene."
e. The alleged improper consideration of payroll records.
The trial court permitted the office manager to testify to the contents of the records as shown by the documents themselves rather than requiring their admission under the best evidence rule. (Code Civ. Proc., § 1855.) But the "records were in court for use on cross-examination or otherwise" (Margolis v. Teplin (1958) 163 Cal. App. 2d 526, 533 [329 P.2d 535]) so that any purported error in her testimony could be clarified or corrected as appellant might desire.
 The court did not allow appellant to show as extensively as he wished the work schedule of his fellow-employees on June 9, 1961, or the week thereafter. The office manager who was called by appellant's counsel, established that, as of such date, work was slow at appellant's place of employment and that the payroll records reflected generally that no one worked on June 9 or the next few days thereafter. Then appellant's counsel began a line of inquiry as to whether particular individuals worked on specific days; the trial court sustained objections to this kind of testimony on the ground that it opened up too "many collateral issues." (Code Civ. Proc., § 1868; Decter v. Stevenson Properties, Inc. (1951) 39 Cal. 2d 407, 420 [247 P.2d 11].) It was the prosecution's theory that appellant did not work on June 9 nor thereafter because of his involvement in the plans for the robbery and his avoidance of arrest. The [59 Cal. 2d 535] court permitted H. B. Sears to rebut that inference by showing on his defense that his absence from work could be due to a slow work season. Under the circumstances it does not appear that the trial court's rulings in regard to the payroll records prejudiced appellant.
f. The alleged erroneous admission of accusatory statements which appellant denied.
[40a] At the trial a police officer testified as to his conversation with appellant H. B. Sears on June 16 soon after his arrest. Appellant gave his statements freely and voluntarily. After appellant denied any knowledge as to the reasons for his arrest, the police officer told him that they were investigating the June 9 market robbery and homicide in Monterey Park and that they had been informed that the 1949 Ford car appellant owned was used at the time. Appellant replied, "Well, it wasn't me and it wasn't my car."
[40b] The People first argue that appellant's statement that no one drove his car but himself was admissible as an admission of guilt because the pink slip on the car indicated that appellant had purchased the car from Ketchel on June 8, and the car was driven from the scene of the robbery and homicide on June 9. The prosecution then contends that if part of a conversation is reported, the entire conversation becomes admissible so long as all parts of it are relevant to each other.
We turn to the consideration of the issues at the trial on the penalty. We consider each of the arguments seriatim.
1. The argument of the prosecuting attorney on the deterrent effect of the death penalty.
 We believe that the prosecutor's argument to the jury that the death penalty was a deterrent to crime constituted prejudicial error in the penalty phase of the case.
The prosecution argued to the jury that they had a "responsibility towards the deterrents of crime" that "we must show an example," that "we cannot allow the luxury to these other potential killers of saying that our jurors are soft and our laws are soft." The prosecutor asserted that the defendants were kept in "the County Jail upstairs"; that it "has about 3,000 inmates ... that have broken the law. ... These are our potential robbers and murderers of the future."
Developing his theme of deterrence, the prosecuting attorney stated, among other similar matters, the following: "... I submit to you that the robbers and killers of the future were the classmates of these defendants; those people in the County Jail, those people in the Youth Authority, those people in State Prison under the Adult Authority. These are the people that we must deter. We must show an example under the proper circumstances. We cannot allow the luxury to these other potential killers of saying that our jurors are soft and our laws are soft.
"... How much of a deterrent can we put on robbers not to put bullets into their guns? How much of a deterrent can we put on them maybe not to even commit the crime at all? Because this is a terrible and a violent crime. Can we deter not only these defendants from future crimes but other persons from pulling the trigger when they are about to be captured?
"... the two big issues that you have here, considering the defendants as individuals, considering the deterrents of crime, deterrents of a robber who will figure that juries are soft. You must consider the deterrents not only from the standpoint of these individual defendants but from other persons."
The gist of Love is that an appeal to the jury based upon the alleged superiority of capital punishment over imprisonment reaches into the improbable and unknown. Evidence which sought to prove such an hypothesis would not be admissible. The argument founded upon it must be erroneous, and, in certain circumstances, prejudicial.
The argument in the instant case in part parallels the prejudicially erroneous supplication of the prosecutor in Love. It echoes the argument of Love that "criminals" will "unload their guns" in order not to get the death penalty with the plea that the jurors must fix their penalty in light of "how much of a deterrent can we put on robbers not to put bullets into their guns?"
The prosecutor's argument here in part actually proceeds beyond that of Love. The argument addresses the minds of the jury to the deterrence of designated "potential killers" rather than to the penalty to be adjudged to the defendants. It specifies and describes the persons who are to be "deterred"; it personalizes these "potential killers" in the fictitious identities of "the classmates of these defendants: those people in the County Jail, those people in the Youth Authority, those people in the State Prison under the Adult Authority. These are the people that we must deter." The sought imposition of the death penalty thus rests upon the [59 Cal. 2d 539] unproven and illegitimate assumption that it acts as a deterrent to the described "potential killers." The prosecution, indeed, twice emphasizes the contention: "We cannot allow the luxury to these other potential killers of saying that our jurors are soft and our laws are soft." The warning of the prosecution injected a false and foreign weight in the scale of the rendition of a delicate, crucial decision.
We find no evidence in the record to the effect that "potential robbers and murderers" were "going to wait and see what" the jury did in this case. Nor is there any evidence to show that the death penalty deters "persons from pulling the trigger when they are about to be captured." Surely no evidence could prove that "3,000 people in the County Jail that have broken the law that are either being sentenced there or awaiting trial ... are our potential robbers and murderers of the future." (Italics added.) Indeed, no evidence supports the plethora of insinuation and implication of the deterrence of the death penalty implicit in the prosecution's argument. Moreover, as we have stated, such evidence, even if offered, would not have been admissible.
People v. Garner (1961) 57 Cal. 2d 135, 156 [18 Cal. Rptr. 40, 367 P.2d 680], involved an argument of the district attorney as to deterrence, but the court, having examined the record, "concluded that his discussion of the deterrent effect of the death penalty was only a minor part of his appeal to the jury for that penalty." Finally, in People v. Imbler (1962) 57 Cal. 2d 711, 717- 718 [21 Cal. Rptr. 568, 371 P.2d 304], the court characterized as error, but not prejudicial error, the prosecutor's argument to the jury as to the deterrent effect of the death penalty. The court said, "The prosecutor's [59 Cal. 2d 540] discussion in that regard, offered to the jury as 'another factor you can consider,' was temperate and restrained and was only a brief and minor part of his argument. The error was therefore not prejudicial. (People v. Garner, ante, pp. 135, 156 [18 Cal. Rptr. 40, 367 P.2d 680].)"
In the instant case the reference did not find its sole embodiment in an instruction to the jury; it was not a minor part of the appeal; it was not temperate and restrained. In substance, it was the expression of a basic thrust of the prosecutor to obtain a verdict for capital punishment because of its alleged deterrent effect. According to the prosecutor, "the two big issues" before the jury were consideration of the defendants as individuals and deterrence of future robbers "who will figure that juries are soft."
In sum, to accept the legality of the prosecution's argument in this case would be to erase the principle of Love.
2. The alleged improper reference to appellants as "cop- killers."
3. The arguments of Ketchel as to specific improprieties affecting him at the penalty trial.
a. Impropriety of the trial court's instructions as to a prisoner's release from prison after sentence.
 The court instructed: "In making your determination as to the penalty to be imposed, the jury may, in exercising its discretion to choose between different punishments, consider as a possible consequence that the law of this State provides that a defendant sentenced to either death or life imprisonment may be pardoned or have his sentence reduced by the Governor and that a prisoner serving a life sentence may be eligible for parole but not until he has served at least seven calendar years."
Appellant contends that the jury should have been further instructed that the Governor cannot grant a pardon "where the convict has been twice convicted of felony, unless upon the written recommendation of a majority of the judges of the Supreme Court." (Cal. Const., art. VII, § 1.) But "[t]he significant matter was that if the jury fixed the penalty of life imprisonment there were nevertheless means by which defendant could be released from prison; the precise operation of those means was of no particular importance." (People v. Linden (1959) supra, 52 Cal. 2d 1, 25.) The court discharged its duty of instructing the jury on the "general principles of law" governing this phase of the case. (People v. Rivers (1961) 188 Cal. App. 2d 189, 193 [10 Cal. Rptr. 309].) Appellant should have requested a more specific instruction on the point if he thought it desirable or necessary. (People v. Wallace (1895) 109 Cal. 611, 613 [42 P. 159].) Such an instruction would have been preferable and should be given upon retrial.
b. The alleged erroneous admission of testimony of witnesses to two prior robberies he committed.
Two witnesses testified to two armed robberies committed by Ketchel in 1959. Two police officers testified to Ketchel's [59 Cal. 2d 542] confession to these two 1959 robberies as well as to two other alleged robberies, for which Ketchel was never prosecuted. Ketchel argues that these earlier crimes bore no relation to the present criminal charges, were not "closely related in time and method" to them, and testimony as to them was therefore improperly admitted; in fact, such evidence was "no more than cumulative, since a certified copy of the judgment of the previous crimes was also introduced, showing the plea and disposition."
 Ketchel committed the prior robberies within three years of the robbery here involved and in each one armed himself with a gun. The number and similarity of execution of the robberies rested in the consideration of the jury as a matter of "recurrent behavior" relevant "on the issue of punishment, for it might conclude that the behavior would probably or possibly recur again were defendant given a life sentence and ultimately paroled." (People v. Purvis, supra, p. 881.) Such evidence is not cumulative because the introduction of the certified copies of the judgments of conviction on these prior robberies, alone, would not have exposed the background of the convictions.
 Ketchel further argues that the trial court erred in admitting into evidence certain portions of his probation record [59 Cal. 2d 543] after the 1959 judgments, consisting of two letters of his probation officer. He claims these letters were hearsay and so incompetent. (People v. Purvis, supra, p. 883.) The letters expressed Ketchel's remorse and his intention to "straighten out." The court overruled appellant's objection to their introduction, with the comment that in his opinion the "letters greatly favor Ketchel." The record sustains the trial court's observation; their admission could not reasonably have prejudiced Ketchel.
4. The alleged error in the instruction on parole.
[51a] The court instructed that "a prisoner serving a life term may be eligible for parole but not until he has served at least seven calendar years." It refused to give appellants' instruction which included inter alia that the jury could not assume that a person sentenced to life would or would not be granted parole or be held in custody for his entire life.
 "It is settled that to assist the jury in fixing the penalty, it may be informed of the minimum term a person given a life sentence for first degree murder must serve and the minimum, average, and maximum terms actually being served for first degree murder in California." (People v. Purvis, supra, p. 884.) [51b] The refused instruction would in effect have told the jury that it could not consider the information as to a minimum term for a life sentence for murder which Purvis holds is available to it.
5. The alleged impropriety of prosecutor's arguments concerning parole and the Adult Authority.
[54a] Appellants argue that the prosecuting attorney committed prejudicial misconduct in describing the amount of time appellants might serve in prison if sentenced to life imprisonment; that he disparaged the work of the Adult Authority and its wisdom in granting paroles; that he inferred that parole might be granted without rehabilitation; [59 Cal. 2d 544] and if "life imprisonment" is the penalty, "these men will once again walk the streets."
 Argument with reference to the possibility of parole must be used with caution so as not to influence the jury's determination of penalty by matters outside both the scope of the evidence and the jury's function. [54b] Here the prosecuting attorney began his discussion of parole by stating that a first degree murderer very seldom obtained parole after serving seven years in prison. He then mentioned that the Adult Authority might make a mistake, as it did when it allowed H. B. Sears out on parole on March 12 before the June 9, 1961, robbery and homicide. On the other hand, he said that a person is rarely kept in prison for his entire life. Since no evidence disclosed what course the Adult Authority might follow in granting parole, this portion of the prosecuting attorney's argument was stricken as without the record, and the jury instructed to disregard it.
After being so corrected by the trial court, the prosecuting attorney proceeded to tell the jury what the maximum and minimum time a prisoner under life sentence would serve (Cf. People v. Purvis, supra, p. 884.) He then noted that if the jury should decide that "the proper punishment here is life imprisonment," then "in effect" that is an expression of belief or "endorsement" that "these men can be rehabilitated" and when the Adult Authority agrees that there had been rehabilitation, then "release" them. This comment only served to point up the law allowing a person under life imprisonment to be paroled after seven years in prison if the Adult Authority should allow it (Pen. Code, § 3046); while the prosecutor argued that a sentence of life imprisonment will mean "these men will once again walk the streets," the statement occurred in context with, and related to, the Adult Authority's finding of rehabilitation. The prosecutor did not suggest that parole would result from other causes than rehabilitation; we are not confronted with such an argument as that of People v. Caetano (1947) 29 Cal. 2d 616, 619 [177 P.2d 1], where the prosecutor improperly contended that prisoners would be paroled from prison due to the congested condition of prisons.
In raising the possibility of appellants' parole from prison under a life sentence term, the People did not commit error; such a consideration composed one of the facts involved in the determination of the issue of punishment. (People v. Linden (1959) supra, 52 Cal. 2d 1, 25.) The trial court quickly [59 Cal. 2d 545] stopped the argument based on speculation as to how the Adult Authority might treat appellants in the event of a sentence of life imprisonment; the court admonished the jury to disregard it. Since the prosecuting attorney made no misleading statements in commenting on the work of the Adult Authority in granting paroles commensurate with findings of rehabilitation, and, in the context of the argument of the prosecution in its totality, we cannot hold that appellants suffered prejudicial error.
[56a] We turn to the third and last basic tenet of appellants' argument: that the court failed to grant a continuance for hearing appellants' motions for a new trial.
The verdict was received October 30, 1961, and appellants moved for a new trial. The court set the hearing for November 16. On November 16, counsel for appellant Thomas Sears moved for a continuance. He stated that he had been transferred to the public defender's Long Beach office, where he had a heavy daily calendar, "including court appearances substantially each day"; that the probation report on Thomas Sears had just been delivered to him "only minutes before the hearing"; and that the record in this case was voluminous, extensive research would be required, and he would like a continuance to some time in December. The court denied the motion for continuance.
The court then heard, and promptly denied, the motion for new trial. The court further advised counsel that the probation reports "were not going to influence him" in any way. In these circumstances it is argued that the trial court wholly neglected its independent duty to review the evidence to ascertain whether either the degree of the offense or the penalty imposed should have been reduced; that the court's failure to grant a continuance so that counsel might have adequate time to prepare for argument of the motion demonstrated that the court "did not even recognize this duty."
[56b] The granting of a continuance is within the discretion of the trial court. (People v. Buckowski (1951) 37 Cal. 2d 629, 631 [233 P.2d 912].) Here daily transcripts of the trial proceedings were available for all counsel so that no delay was effected by waiting for the preparation of the transcript. (See People v. Ashley (1954) 42 Cal. 2d 246, 269 [267 P.2d 271].) Once it became clear that the probation reports would be ready by that time, all counsel agreed to the original November 16 date. Counsel were given 17 days to prepare for the motions (October 30 to November 16); yet counsel for Thomas Sears without any advance notice to the trial court (see Pen. Code, § 1050) and after more than two weeks' time for preparation, moved for a continuance on November 16, on the plea that he needed more time. The record indicates that once argument on the motions for a new trial was conducted as scheduled, counsel for Thomas Sears competently covered the grounds.
At the argument on the motions appellants' counsel particularly called the court's attention to its duty to make an independent review of the evidence in accord with the case of People v. Love (1961) supra, 56 Cal. 2d 720, 728; the record does not substantiate Thomas Sears' contention that it ignored that duty.
The court's refusal to grant a continuance here is not comparable with the Sarazzawski case. There the trial court compelled oral argument on a motion for new trial three days after the jury's verdict after promising counsel 13 days. (People v. Sarazzawski, supra, 27 Cal. 2d 7, 11-12.) Here [59 Cal. 2d 547] counsel were clearly told when the motions would be heard and allowed a reasonable time to prepare (17 days). In these circumstances there would appear to be no abuse of discretion in denying the motion for a continuance.
The judgment of conviction, and the order denying a new trial as to H. B. Sears are affirmed with the modification that the sentence on each count be concurrent with the other. The judgment as to Donald Floyd Ketchel and Thomas Edward Sears imposing sentences for robbery and the order denying a new trial thereon are affirmed; the judgment as to Donald Floyd Ketchel and Thomas Edward Sears imposing the death penalty and the order denying a new trial on the question of penalty are reversed, and the cause is remanded for retrial and redetermination on the question of penalty only and for the pronouncement of a new sentence and judgment in accordance with such determination and the applicable law.
Gibson, C. J., Traynor, J., Peters, J., and White, J., fn. * concurred.
I would affirm the judgments and the orders denying the motions for a new trial in their entirety. See dissenting opinions of Mr. Justice Schauer and myself in People v. Love, 56 Cal. 2d 702, 734-756 [16 Cal. Rptr. 777, 17 Cal. Rptr. 481, 366 P.2d 33, 809].
FN *. Retired Justice of the Supreme Court sitting pro tempore under assignment by the Chairman of the Judicial Council.

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