Blue city DA facing recall vote backed halting death penalty for man convicted of torture, killing infant

A district attorney facing a recall vote in November backed removing a man from death row who was convicted of torturing and murdering an infant, according to the San Francisco Chronicle Thursday.

Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price, who has received financial backing from left-wing billionaire George Soros, got Superior Court Judge Thomas Stevens on Oct. 14 to spare convict Michael Lopez’s life, giving him a lighter sentence, according to the Chronicle. His punishment was initially the death penalty for first-degree murder and torture after he was convicted in 2001, but it was reduced to 26 years to life for second-degree murder and lewd act on a child with a great bodily injury enhancement.

Deputy District Attorney Aimee Solway, who works in Price’s office, asked for the resentencing “in the interest of justice,” according to the Chronicle. Lopez, since he was arrested in 1999 and would have his current time in prison counted towards his sentence, may be eligible for parole if officials deem him worthy.

Solway claimed in the most recent motion that prosecutors excluded jurors on the basis of race, that the case wasn’t consistent with past death penalty cases, and that Lopez’s low IQ could’ve impacted his ability to care for the child, according to the Chronicle. He also cited Lopez’s clean disciplinary record in prison and the low likelihood that he would commit future crimes.

This is the fourth time Price asked Lopez to be resentenced, according to the Chronicle. Price promised when she was elected in 2022 to do away with the death penalty.

Price is currently facing a recall election as crime in the county continues to surge under her tenure, with violent incidents spiking in Oakland, the county’s largest city, by 21% during just the first ten months she was in office.

Current polling shows the recall effort remains close, with 41% supporting her and 37% supporting the recall, with a 4.9% margin of error, according to a July Binder research poll. Additionally, the recall campaign is outspending the anti-recall effort by over a three-to-one margin, according to KQED.

“In recommending this resentencing, the People in no way diminish the horror, pain, and suffering which this child endured,” Solway said according to court documents obtained by the Chronicle.

Price’s office did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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