California judge rejects request to vacate death sentence for Polly Klaas' killer

A California judge on Friday rejected a request by the man convicted of killing Polly Klaas to vacate a death sentence imposed on him. 

Santa Clara County Judge Benjamin Williams declined to "vacate the jury verdict" in the sentencing of Richard Allen Davis. Davis was convicted in 1996 for the 1993 killing of Klaas, 12, after kidnapping her from her bedroom at knifepoint in a San Francisco suburb. 

His attorney argued in a February court filing that the death sentence should be recalled because of recent changes to state sentencing laws. They also noted the state's current moratorium on the death penalty imposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom. 

POLLY KLAAS' FATHER CALLS GOV. NEWSOM ‘A PIG’ FOR DEATH PENALTY MORATORIUM

In 2019, Newsom placed a moratorium on executions, calling the death penalty "a failure" that has discriminated against defendants who are mentally ill, Black and brown, or can’t afford expensive legal representation." 

A future governor could change that policy.

The Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office said that Davis’ attorneys’ arguments are "nonsensical," and that the laws they are citing don’t apply to his death sentence for Klaas’ murder.

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In a statement, Marc Klaas thanked prosecutors and Williams for Friday's decision pertaining to his daughter's death. 

"As a reminder, Richard Allen Davis literally gave Polly, her loved ones, the sentencing judge, and the criminal justice system the ‘middle finger’ on the day he was convicted on June 18, 1996," he said. "Davis’s request for re-sentencing almost 28 years later is a betrayal of the criminal justice system and the equivalent of this psychopath once again giving us the middle finger."

The night she was kidnapped, Klaas was with two friends at a slumber party in her home. Her disappearance touched off a nationwide search by thousands of volunteers. Davis was arrested two months later and led police to the child’s body, which was found in a shallow grave 50 miles north of her home in Sonoma County.

The case was a major driver of California's "three strike law," which requires prison sentences for repeat offenders.

California last executed someone in 2006.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.