By Michael Doyle
Fresno Bee
WASHINGTON — The two inmates accused of killing federal correctional officer Jose Rivera at U.S. Penitentiary Atwater are now set to go on trial in July 2014, more than six years after the brutal slaying that was partially captured on prison videotape.
It’s a long wait, vexing to some, but not unique. Another accused Atwater prison killer, who prosecutors say murdered his cellmate in 2003, is also awaiting a 2014 trial date.
The long delays reflect, in part, the many complications involved in capital murder cases. In both of the alleged Atwater prison murders, prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
In the Jose Rivera slaying, moreover, prosecutors and defense attorneys had both wanted even more time, proposing that trial start in early 2015. But in a ruling quietly issued this month, U.S. District Judge Philip M. Pro declared that the Rivera case “has already suffered” sufficient delay over the past five years due to a combination of procedural complications and a pretrial appeal over a mental competency hearing.
“During this time, counsel for the defendants have had ample time to conduct pretrial and mitigation investigation and discovery, have consulted with numerous experts, and (could) develop a close working relationship with their clients,” Pro wrote in the March 1 ruling.
Full story: Trial set in slaying of Atwater correctional officer Jose Rivera