Chetcutis say no to execution

Instead of watching the man who gunned down their loved one languish for decades on death row, Chetcuti said the family agrees Sullivan faces a harder time in general population where "a pack of cigarettes gets things done."

Chetcuti's deceased widow, Gail, shared the sentiment, both Charles Chetcuti and his brother Joe Chetcuti said.

Sullivan is eligible for the death penalty because of the special allegation he killed a law enforcement officer. In the seven years since Chetcuti died April 25, 1998, prosecutors have never definitely announced whether they will seek capital punishment. If Sullivan is deemed competent this week, Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said a punishment decision will be made a priority to speed up a jury trial date. District Attorney Jim Fox considers the family's wishes in death penalty decisions but does not always follow their request.

A capital case tends to cost more and take longer, though - something prosecutors and the family fears might give Sullivan time to mentally decline again.

Sullivan told defense attorney Vince O'Malley that if convicted "God told him that he needs to take the death penalty."

The Lord, Sullivan said, told him this by giving him a sign of a flashing light. After execution, he believes he will die and return to heaven where he was created. During the same interview, Sullivan said he'd have to ask the Lord for advice before deciding whether to testify on his own behalf during with the guilt or penalty phases.

If Sullivan receives the death penalty for killing Chetcuti, he will not be the only man ever sentenced to die for murdering a San Mateo County law enforcement officer.

The second-to-last execution of a San Mateo County man convicted of killing an officer was Henry Roy "The Hook" Lane in 1962. Lane - who earned his nickname after a 1955 failed bomb attempt at a Stockton college left him with a prosthetic arm - killed Menlo Park police Officer Jack Lyle two years before.

In 1991, Mel Price was convicted of killing East Palo Alto police Officer Joel Davis but the jury deadlocked over the death penalty, Wagstaffe said. Instead, Price received life without the possibility of parole.

In 1998, the year Chetcuti died, 61 other officers were killed nationwide and 58 with guns, according to statistics by the FBI.

Cop killing cases always tend to be political battlefields, particularly when it comes to prosecution. Last April, San Francisco police Officer Isaac Espinoza was gunned down and District Attorney Kamala Harris stirred up a hornet's nest by refusing to seek death against suspect David Hill. U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Attorney General Bill Lockyer even stepped into the fray despite Harris making her anti-death stance quite clear during her election campaign.

In January, a Southern California correctional officer was fatally stabbed by an inmate - the first in nearly 20 years - and a Ceres police officer was fatally shot by a 19-year-old former Marine who later died himself during a shoot-out with other officers.

Michelle Durand can be reached by e-mail: michelle@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 104. What do you think of this story? Send a letter to the editor: letters@smdailyjournal.com.