USA - California. Judge John W. Lua resentenced former death row Constantino Carrera to 2 consecutive terms of 25 years to life

Kern County Judge John W. Lua resentenced former death row Constantino Carrera to 2 consecutive terms of 25 years to life in prison. Carrera, 19 at the time, and his then 17-year-old co-defendant, Ramiro Ruiz, killed Jack and Carol Hayes during a 1982 robbery that netted $238. The Hayes managed a motel. Deputy Public Defender Paul Cadman, Carrera's attorney, argued his client deserved a concurrent sentence because unethical behavior on the part of a Kern County prosecutor resulted in him landing on death row. Cadman said Carrera is a victim of former prosecutor Michael J. Vendrasco, who tried the case. Cadman, noting a federal court's ruling in the case, said Vendrasco put jailhouse informants and known liars on the stand during Carrera's trial and hid the fact that those witnesses were given deals for their cooperation. That raised the level of responsibility and intent in the crime, making Carrera eligible for the death penalty. U.S. District Court Judge Anthony Ishii reversed Carrera's death sentence in 2004 after finding Vendrasco committed misconduct during the trial. The ruling, however, affirmed Carrera's conviction for 2 counts of 1st-degree murder. Carerra has already served 30 years in prison, and could be eligible for parole in 5 years.