Opinion ID: 2507176
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Other Defense Evidence

Text: In 1995, Rosie Lampignano Wright told a defense investigator that the 1976 assault was the only time defendant ever laid a hand on her. Wright was shocked by the news that defendant was involved in Officer Verna's murder; it seemed totally out of character for him. LaTwon Weaver, who met defendant when both were imprisoned on death row at San Quentin, testified that defendant had been a friend and brother to him, that defendant had given up his limited phone time to allow Weaver to talk to his family, and that he and defendant were both Christians who believed in God. LaTwon's father, the Reverend Ray Weaver, had spent time with defendant in prison at prayer sessions and believed that defendant was sincere in his religious beliefs. Mark Margulies, who knew defendant in elementary school rekindled their friendship when he learned defendant was in prison. Based on their monthly visits when defendant was at San Quentin, Margulies found that defendant was like a brother and that defendant acted as an uncle to Margulies's kids. The two had a common bond in reading the Bible. Defendant told Margulies that the other man in the car shot Officer Verna. Margulies, who is a cameraman in television and movies, discovered that defendant is a writer and that defendant had written a script, never produced, for the television show Nash Bridges. Defendant then wrote a screenplay called A Children's Story, which was submitted to the Writer's Workshop, an affiliate of the American Film Institute, and won an award. The actor Ed Asner, who had never met or spoken with defendant but who was the emcee at the awards ceremony, was highly impressed with the screenplay, which was a story about physically and mentally challenged children learning to trust, depend on, and survive with each other on a camping trip under adverse conditions. Lou Margulies, Mark's wife, was initially skeptical about her husband's contacts with defendant, but testified that defendant had undergone an evolution in prison and that his was a life worth saving. Gregory Hadley, an electrical engineer, met defendant through his friends the Margulieses, because he had been looking for someone to write a screenplay based on an idea he had. In less than a month defendant prepared a screenplay that was 90 percent of what Hadley was looking for. Hadley met monthly with defendant over an 18-month period and found that defendant had a bright, active, and creative mind. Defendant expressed remorse for the robberies, but said he did not commit all of them. Paul Harris, minister of the Church of the Nazarene in Novate (where defendant's current wife attends church), met defendant at San Quentin and found him to be thoughtful, intelligent, and creative, with a hunger for life. Harris believed defendant could have a positive impact on people.