Federal Judge Overturns Alameda Death Penalty Conviction Over Racial Bias

A federal judge overturned the death penalty conviction of an incarcerated person after the California Attorney General found Alameda County prosecutors had barred Black residents from the jury box.

In 1986, Curtis Lee Ervin was allegedly hired by Robert McDonald to kill his ex-wife, Carlene McDonald. Ervin, 71, was convicted and sentenced to death in 1991. He is incarcerated at California Health Care Facility, a prison for incarcerated people with long-term health needs in Stockton. McDonald, who was also convicted for the death of Carlene McDonald, died in prison.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price said her office has until the end of September to decide whether to refile charges or dismiss the case against Ervin.

“It is clear that the prosecution of this case was very problematic,” Price said. “There is evidence of serious prosecutorial misconduct, of misrepresentations to the court and a lack of accountability in this office at that time.”

According to court filings, prosecutors in Ervin’s trial removed nine out of 11 prospective jurors who identified as Black. The jury included only one Black person, with another selected as an alternate.

Price is in the process of reviewing all of the county’s death penalty convictions with a living defendant. Judge Vince Chhabria of the U.S. District Court of Northern California ordered the review following allegations that the Alameda County District Attorney’s office had a practice of unlawfully excluding Black and Jewish jurors from death penalty trials. Federal law prohibits the use of race or ethnicity in jury selection.

In addition to misconduct in jury selection, the DA’s initial review found that former Alameda County prosecutor James Anderson used racist imagery and stereotypes in an opening statement to Thomas’ trial. California passed the Racial Justice for All Act in 2021, which retroactively made racism by prosecutors and other justice system actors illegal. Anderson retired in 2016.

Last month, Price announced that she had asked the Alameda County Superior Court to resentence three men on death row in California. In two of the cases, prosecutorial misconduct is alleged. Her office filed motions requesting the resentencing hearings, and the first was on July 17. The other two were scheduled for August.

Price said the lead attorney involved in Ervin’s trial, James Anderson, retired in 2016. According to reporting by the East Bay Times, Anderson sent 10 people tried in the county to death row. Price said she is still in the process of determining whether other staff who worked on the case remain in the office.

Price said Ervin would not be immediately released from prison. Before being released, Price said he would be evaluated by prison officials.

“Our experience is that it’s generally nine to 10 months before that happens,” Price said.