Richard Allen Davis was convicted in June 1996 of the murder and kidnapping of Polly Klaas, a child of Petaluma, California. The offenses took place in October 1993. A jury in Santa Clara County found him guilty on ten counts, including first-degree murder and kidnapping, and found four special circumstances true. The same jury recommended death, and in September 1996 a Superior Court judge imposed that sentence. The California Supreme Court affirmed the judgment in its entirety in 2009.
The case drew national attention, and California's three-strikes law followed in 1994, passed by the legislature that March and ratified by voters in November.
Davis was arrested on November 30, 1993, and charged with kidnapping and murder. The prosecution was brought in Sonoma County. The trial court later found that a jury could not be seated there, and the case was moved to Santa Clara County, where it was heard in the Superior Court.
On June 18, 1996, the jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts, including first-degree murder and kidnapping, and found true four special circumstances. The court's later opinion lists ten counts in all. A penalty phase followed, to decide between death and life without the possibility of parole.
On August 5, 1996, the jury, six women and six men, unanimously recommended the death penalty. On September 26, 1996, the Superior Court judge imposed the sentence of death. The judgment also included five terms of life without the possibility of parole and a determinate term of 31 years for the remaining felonies.
A death sentence in California is reviewed automatically by the state Supreme Court. Davis's opening brief was filed in 2005, and the appeal waited for years in the court's backlog. On June 1, 2009, the court issued a ruling of 112 pages and affirmed the judgment in its entirety. It rejected his arguments, among them that the trial should have been moved out of the Bay Area and that statements he made after his arrest should not have been admitted. The court upheld his convictions on ten counts. Further review through habeas corpus petitions and the federal courts remained open to him.
In May 2024 Davis asked the Santa Clara County Superior Court to recall his sentence and resentence him under Senate Bill 483, which applies to certain sentences with one-year prior-conviction enhancements. The prosecution argued that the law does not allow a death sentence to be recalled. On May 31, 2024, the judge denied the petition, ruling that it was an unauthorized challenge to the death sentence, which could be brought only through a writ of habeas corpus. The Sonoma County District Attorney's office stated that a habeas corpus petition on the sentence was still pending.
In March 2019 Governor Gavin Newsom signed an order imposing a moratorium on executions, which reprieved the 737 people then on death row without changing their sentences. Davis is held in California.
On November 5, 2026, the Governor announced that all 548 remaining death sentences in the state would be changed to life without the possibility of parole. The state constitution requires the California Supreme Court's approval for clemency to anyone convicted of a felony more than once. The Governor's office said the court would have to approve 382 of the commutations, about 70 percent, and Davis's case is among those submitted to the court. Nothing had taken effect at the time of the announcement. As of November 12, 2026, Davis's death sentence stood as imposed in 1996 and affirmed in 2009, and the commutation of his sentence depended on the court's approval.
October 1993: The child is killed in Petaluma, California.
November 30, 1993: Davis is arrested and charged with kidnapping and murder.
March 1994: The legislature passes California's three-strikes law; voters ratify it in November.
1996: Trial in Santa Clara County, after the case was moved from Sonoma County.
June 18, 1996: Jury returns guilty verdicts on all counts and finds four special circumstances true.
August 5, 1996: Jury unanimously recommends death.
September 26, 1996: Superior Court judge imposes the death sentence.
June 1, 2009: California Supreme Court affirms the judgment in its entirety.
March 2019: Governor imposes a moratorium on executions in California.
May 31, 2024: Superior Court denies a petition to recall and resentence.
November 5, 2026: Governor announces that all 548 remaining death sentences will be commuted, with state Supreme Court approval required for 382 of them, Davis's among them.