The People, Plaintiff and Respondent v. Alejandro Avila, Defendant and Appellant

Summary

The California Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of conviction and death sentence for kidnapping, sexual offenses against, and murdering a five-year-old child. It held that the trial court properly denied a change of venue and additional peremptory challenges because the record did not show a reasonable likelihood of an unfair trial or juror prejudice. The court also upheld the admission of other-sex-offense evidence, crime-scene photographs, child-pornography evidence, and victim-impact evidence, finding no abuse of discretion or cumulative prejudice.