Victim’s family dismayed as ‘thrill kill’ case revisited
Randy Thompson will get a transfer hearing to evaluate whether his case and sentence, still on appeal, should be moved to juvenile court, effectively engineering his release
One of the killers in the grislymurder of a 15-year-old-old Santa Teresa High School sophomore nearly a decade ago could be released fromprison earlier than expected if a judge decides he qualifies under a relatively new criminal-justice reform law.
Randy Thompson, now 24, was sent to Santa Clara County jail after a detention hearing Thursday where the family of Michael Russell — whose “thrill kill” death shocked the community — voiced their dismay at the prospect of the prisoner’s early release.
A judge is set to evaluate whether Thompson’s case should have been filed in juvenile court instead of adult court in 2009 when he was first charged.
Until recently, Thompson had been serving a 26-year prison sentence at San Quentin State Prison in the killing of Russell, who was sadistically stabbed to death by Thompson and Jae Williams, who received a similar sentence and is imprisoned at California State Prison, Solano.
Thompson’s attorneys, with the county Alternate Defender’s Office, requested a transfer hearing in the wake of a state Supreme Court decision in February that determined that Proposition 57, a criminal-justice reform law California voters approved in November 2016, applied retroactively to cases not finalized.
At issue is a component of the law which gives judges the sole discretion to decide whether a juvenile offender charged with a serious violent crime should be tried as an adult. Prior to the law’s passage, prosecutors could make that decision like they did in Thompson’s case.
Until the state Supreme Court’s February ruling, it had been unclear whether Proposition 57 applied to previous cases. Since Thompson’s case is still on appeal, he is eligible to a new hearing on whether his case should have been been filed in juvenile court under the new law.
So in a show of Russell’s family appeared in juvenile court Thursday because they fear if he gets his case transferred, he could be swiftly released, since juvenile court jurisdiction ends when an offender turns 23.
“The thought of him getting out is really scary,” Cathy Russell, Michael’s aunt, told ABC7. “Because for society, I wouldn’t want him living next door to me. I mean he’s not a safe person. He can’t exist in society. He’s an animal.”
No date has been set for Thompson’s transfer hearing. A status hearing has been set for for June 5.
Deputy District Attorney Carolyn Powell, who prosecuted Thompson twice — his first trial ended in mistrial — said her office aims to ensure Thompson serves the prison time he was issued.
“Our position is he belongs in adult court and we will continue working toward that end,” she said.
The attorneys with the Alternate Defender’s Of- fice, which is shepherding Thompson’s hearing request, could not be reached for comment Thursday. But Richard Pointer, Thompson’s defense attorney at the trial, said his former client should have been given a hearing to assess his fitness for adult court.
“The opportunity to present that from a strategic standpoint was not available to us,” Pointer said. “Had it been, the psychologist we had retained would have come to the same conclusion we did, that he certainly lacked the level of sophistication and judgment one would find in an adult criminal.”
Pointer asserted that if the criminal-justice system had considered Thompson’s age and maturity when he was prosecuted, the thenteen could have been directed toward rehabilitative and educational avenues to salvage his young life.
As proof of that capacity to be rehabilitated, Pointer referred to Thompson’s time in prison so far.
“From what I hear he’s been an exemplary inmate while in custody, focused on education, and ultimately if he was committed to juvenile incarceration, he would come away from that with some positive characteristics,” he said.
But Pointer also was pragmatic, and said that the “egregious” nature of the crime Thompson committed could very well preclude him from getting his case successfully transferred. He also voiced sympathy to Russell’s family.
“Understandably, the family continues to grieve, but this is looking at the big picture,” he said. “But I wouldn’t expect it from them.”
“Understandably, the family continues to grieve, but this is looking at the big picture. But I wouldn’t expect it fromthem.” — Richard Pointer, Thompson’s defense attorney