Charles Ng Sentenced to Death: AP Courtroom Footage, June 30, 1999

Name: Charles Ng Sentenced to Death: AP Courtroom Footage, June 30, 1999
Uploaded: 2015-07-21T00:00:00Z
Duration: 2 min 14 s
Description: AP footage of Judge John J. Ryan sentencing Charles Ng to death in Santa Ana in 1999, with statements from victims' relatives and the Calaveras County District Attorney. Ng does not speak.

AP footage of Judge John J. Ryan sentencing Charles Ng to death in Santa Ana in 1999, with statements from victims' relatives and the Calaveras County District Attorney. Ng does not speak.

Subject: Charles Chitat Ng
Recorded: about June 30, 1999
Runtime: 2:14

Content warning: Concerns the murders of eleven people, among them two young children; no graphic detail is spoken in the video.

The Recording

On June 30, 1999, in Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana, California, Judge John J. Ryan sentenced Charles Ng to death for eleven murders. This two-minute Associated Press news item, filed the next day, opens with the judge pronouncing the sentence. It then gives brief statements from four relatives of Ng's victims and from Calaveras County District Attorney Peter Smith. The item has no narration, only the sound recorded at the scene. Ng himself is not heard. AP's notes on the footage record that he "sat expressionless as sentence was pronounced."

Historical Context

Charles Ng, a former U.S. Marine born in Hong Kong, and his friend Leonard Lake killed a series of men, women and children at a cabin in Wilseyville in Calaveras County, California, in the mid-1980s. The case came to light in June 1985 when Ng was seen stealing a vise from a lumber store in South San Francisco and Lake was arrested. Lake killed himself in custody, and Ng fled to Canada, where he was arrested in Calgary in July 1985. After the Supreme Court of Canada ruled against him, he was extradited to the United States in 1991. His trial was moved to Orange County, and on February 24, 1999, he was convicted of eleven counts of murder. The jury deadlocked on a twelfth count, the murder of Paul Cosner, and that count was dropped.

Circumstances of the Recording

The sentencing closed one of the longest murder prosecutions in California history (at the time also reported as the most expensive): fourteen years from Ng's arrest to his sentence. AP's notes describe last-minute attempts by Ng to delay the hearing, including saying he was too tired to proceed and trying to fire his lawyers an hour before sentence. Relatives of the victims had traveled from Ohio, Michigan and elsewhere to be present.

What the Recording Covers

The judge orders that Ng be punished by death at San Quentin. A relative remembers the baby who was killed, and Sharon O'Connor, whose daughter Brenda O'Connor and grandson Lonnie Bond Jr. were among the victims, says she wants Ng dead. William Peranteau, brother of Clifford Peranteau, asks that Ng never be released. Lola Stapley, mother of Robin Scott Stapley, says that there can be no closure for her son's death. District Attorney Peter Smith defends the long process, saying the criminal justice system works if you have patience. Sandy Bond, whom AP's caption identifies as Brenda O'Connor's sister, says the family will be there when the sentence is carried out.

What Makes the Recording Significant

The footage records the moment the case reached its sentence, after fourteen years, together with the reactions of the families and the prosecutor who had lived with it. Its value lies in the courtroom record and the families' words. It is not a recording of Ng: he says nothing in the footage.

Archival Importance

The Lake and Ng case is one of the best-documented serial murder cases in California, and the death sentence was not affirmed by the California Supreme Court until 2022. This AP item is a contemporary record of the day the sentence was pronounced.

Important Caveats

Charles Ng does not speak in this video. The relatives' statements reflect their own grief and views. The judge's words after the sentence (about Ng being held pending his appeal) are not clear in the machine transcript, and no captions exist to check them. AP's description says the courthouse was "outside Los Angeles"; it was the Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana. AP dated the story July 1, 1999; the sentence was pronounced on June 30.

Judge: It is the order of this court that you shall be punished by death, [inaudible; AP's shot list notes applause here] [unclear: "said penalty" / "the death penalty"] to be inflicted within the walls of the California State Prison at San Quentin, California, in the manner prescribed by law.

Judge: [unclear: "To be held by him penning" / probably "to be held by him pending"] the final determination of your appeal in this matter [unclear: "with you"].

Sharon O'Connor: Baby was beautiful, and he loved his grandpa. He followed him all over. May God forgive me, but I want Charles Ng dead.

William Peranteau: The defendant never, never ever be released from prison, and if the only way to assure this would be to put him to death, as the jury voted, do it.

Lola Stapley: The judge has upheld the death penalty, and now I am satisfied that he is going to have to pay for my son's murder. But closure? Never ever will there be closure. There cannot be closure. My son is dead. How can I have closure from that?

Peter Smith: Well, I think if you have patience it works, the criminal justice system. You have to have patience with the system, and you have to realize that human beings are running the system, and I think it's a good system if you just have patience.

Sandy Bond: It will be another 15, probably, before he gets a death sentence, but we'll be there. My mom probably won't be here, but we will. We'll be there when they get there. We'll be there when they kill him. Our jurors have decided. It's just too bad we can't pick the way to put this [unclear: "devil's advocate" / "devil"] where he belongs. [02:12 to 02:14: no speech in the machine transcript; clip ends.] ---