"Today's a Good Day": The Jury's Death Verdict for Rodney Alcala, 2010

Name: "Today's a Good Day": The Jury's Death Verdict for Rodney Alcala, 2010
Uploaded: 2015-07-19T00:00:00Z
Duration: 2 min 11 s
Description: The clerk reads the Orange County jury's death verdict for Rodney Alcala on March 9, 2010, followed by comments from jurors, prosecutor Matt Murphy and the mother of Robin, his 12-year-old victim. Filmed by the Orange County Register.

The clerk reads the Orange County jury's death verdict for Rodney Alcala on March 9, 2010, followed by comments from jurors, prosecutor Matt Murphy and the mother of Robin, his 12-year-old victim. Filmed by the Orange County Register.

Subject: Rodney Alcala
Recorded: March 9, 2010
Runtime: 2:11

Content warning: The mother of a murdered 12-year-old girl speaks about her daughter's death. No graphic detail.

The Interview

This is a 2-minute-11-second Orange County Register video from the day the jury in Rodney Alcala's Orange County trial decided his penalty, March 9, 2010, posted again on the Register's YouTube channel in 2015. It opens in the courtroom with the judge's announcement and the reading of the verdict: death. It continues with comments recorded after the verdict from a juror identified on screen only as "Tom" (and possibly a second juror), from Deputy District Attorney Matt Murphy, and from the mother of Robin, the 12-year-old girl Alcala was convicted of murdering. Alcala, who represented himself, is not heard. No speaker is named in the audio; the juror and the prosecutor are identified by on-screen name straps.

Historical Context

On February 25, 2010, an Orange County jury convicted Rodney Alcala of five first-degree murders committed from 1977 to 1979: four women in Los Angeles County and a 12-year-old girl abducted in Huntington Beach in June 1979. Alcala had twice before been convicted and sentenced to death for the girl's murder, in 1980 and 1986; both convictions were reversed. After about an hour of deliberation in the penalty phase, the seven-man, five-woman jury returned a verdict of death on March 9, 2010. Judge Francisco P. Briseño formally sentenced him to death on March 30, 2010.

Circumstances

The verdict form, read aloud by the clerk, is dated March 9, 2010 and signed by Juror Number Nine as foreperson. The comments that follow were filmed after the jury was discharged, at a news conference in front of the Orange County District Attorney's seal and flags (visible in the picture). The Register's title date, March 10, 2010, is the date the video was published online.

What the Interview Covers

The juror identified as "Tom" says Alcala "got a very fair trial" and describes "strong debate" over one juror who wanted life in prison without the possibility of parole. A juror (possibly a second one) adds that "what sealed it for us was when he only focused on the one case" and describes fighting back tears. Matt Murphy, who appears next, calls Alcala "a monster" and "too smart by half" (the voice and the timing of his name strap point to Murphy; not yet confirmed by a listener), and hopes the verdict offers "some gratification to the loved ones of the victims." Asked by a reporter, Robin's mother thanks the jury and the prosecutor, and says, "The hardest part for me was thinking that my daughter died for nothing, but she didn't."

What Makes the Recording Significant

It records the moment Alcala received his third death verdict for the 1979 murder of a 12-year-old girl, together with on-camera comments from jurors about the jury's deliberations, filmed by the newspaper that covered the case for three decades.

Archival Importance

It is one of a set of Orange County Register videos from the 2010 trial: the prosecution's closing argument, Alcala's own closing argument, the guilt verdicts, this penalty verdict, and the families' statements at the formal sentencing. The court reporter's transcript is the complete official record of the verdict; this video is an edited excerpt.

Important Caveats

Alcala is not heard. The jurors' and prosecutor's opinions are their own. No speaker is named in the audio. The juror "Tom" (first name only) and Matt Murphy are identified by on-screen name straps; the judge and clerk identifications are inferences; where one speaker hands over to the next in the edited comments (about 00:40 and 00:49) is judged from the picture and the voices and should be confirmed by a listener. Robin's mother is identified by the reporter's question ("Robin's mom") and her own words; news reports name her, but her name is not spoken. The title's "2010-03-10" is the publication date, and the description's "trail" means "trial."

Judge: [unclear: "I've been advised" (captions) / "I'd advise" (Whisper)] that you folks have reached the verdict [unclear: "on this matter" (Whisper) / "of this thing" (captions)].

Court Clerk: We the jury, in the above-entitled action, determine that the penalty to be imposed upon defendant Rodney James Alcala to be death. Dated March 9, 2010. Signed, Juror Number Nine, foreperson. [About 00:20 to 00:28: no speech in the captions.]

Juror: I think he got a very fair trial, and I do not feel that he was an underdog. There was strong debate for a particular juror who wanted life in prison without the possibility of parole,

Juror: and what sealed it for us was when he only focused on the one case. There were several times that I had to fight back crying during the trial. I did find it to be very emotional.

Matt Murphy: The best word I can use is he's a monster. He's not a human being. He's smart, but, uh, he's too smart by half, I guess is the saying. Um, he's, uh... It was interesting, but it's, you feel like you got to take a shower at the end of every day.

Matt Murphy: I hope that it does offer some gratification to the, uh, to the loved ones of the victims who are here, that, uh, that this jury came to the right result. And the evidence is so overwhelming at this point, how could there be any other result, uh, but finally the execution of this, uh, of this monster?

Reporter: Robin's mom, how are you?

Robin'S Mother: How are you? [unclear: "Very nice." (Whisper) / "Sorry." (captions)] It's been a long time. So long. So long.

Robin'S Mother: I just want to thank the jury. We've had terrific district attorneys for every child, and this one here, I think, kind of took the cake. He was magnificent. And I want to thank all the jurors, and I want to thank you people for keeping it on the headlines so that other people are aware of it. The hardest part for me was thinking that my daughter died for nothing, but she didn't. Her death saved a lot of other people. So she's a hero. I'm not gonna let nothing cloud today. Today's a good day. [About 02:02 to 02:11: no further speech in the machine text or captions. Clip ends.] ---