Death Penalty for Double Killer

Erin Hallissy, Chronicle East Bay Bureau

[AP. 12-19-96]

A Richmond man asked for forgiveness before he was sentenced to death yesterday by a judge who called him vicious and callous for murdering two

co-workers after being fired from the city's Housing Authority last year.

Michael Pearson, 38, turned to the families of Barbara Garcia and Ruth Lorraine Talley in a Martinez courtroom and said he was ``really sorry'' for

the shootings on April 25, 1995.

Pearson then turned to his mother, brother and other relatives, whose faces were stained with tears, and said, ``I'm sorry, and I love you all.''

Pearson was convicted in October of murdering Garcia, 24, and Talley, 47, in what were described as methodical, premeditated shootings at the

Housing Authority, where he had worked for five months as a receptionist. The same jury recommended the death penalty.

Witnesses had testified that in the weeks before the killings, Pearson had threatened to ``do a 101 California'' if he were fired, referring to a gunman's

1993 killing spree at a San Francisco law firm that left nine people dead.

Pearson took a gun to the Housing Authority when he was called in for a termination hearing, first shooting his supervisor, Talley, and then her

assistant, Garcia. Pearson told horrified workers who witnessed the shootings that he did not intend to kill the two women, according to evidence

presented in court.

Earlier this week, Contra Costa County Superior Court Judge Richard Flier refused a defense motion to reduce the trial jury's recommendation that

Pearson be sentenced to death. Flier found Pearson had planned the murders weeks in advance, purchasing a gun and waiting the obligatory 15 days

before picking it up. Pearson took shooting practice at a range two days before the murders, Flier found, and then went to the Housing Authority

office to carry out his plan.

Pearson's attorney, Bill Veale, had argued that Pearson should not have been convicted of premeditated first-degree murder because he may have had a

brain disorder that prevented him from considering the consequences of his actions.

``He is a flawed human being,'' Veale said. ``He's got an impaired mind.''

Veale argued that Pearson's skewed thought processes led him to kill the victims because he believed he had been mistreated at work.

``He killed for a reason. He believes in his heart that he was crucified,'' Veale said. ``He did not want to do this. He was hoping it would not happen

this way, that there would be an apology.''

Deputy District Attorney Harold Jewett, however, said Pearson's actions ``literally reeked with deliberation.''

``He knew exactly what he was doing. He knew why he was doing it,'' Jewett said.

Jewett said Pearson made a cold-hearted, mean-spirited decision to murder Garcia and Talley.

``What is rotten at the core is evil at the heart and soul of Mr. Pearson,'' Jewett said. ``Before the court considers mercy, [ask] how much mercy did he

give to his victims, and the answer is none. Why in the interest of justice should he get any now?''

Pearson, whose conviction and death sentence will be automatically appealed to the state Supreme Court, was ordered transferred to San Quentin

prison. As he left the courtroom, he looked at his family and said ``I love you guys.''

Pearson's calm demeanor as he was taken back to jail was in contrast to his behavior Monday, when he resisted being handcuffed and then struggled

with five deputies. The legs broke off a solid wood defense table that Pearson and the deputies were scuffling against, crumpling to the ground and

taking the group with it.